"Rowen!  We have guests!" Rowen’s father called from the bottom of the stairs.
 The 9-year-old Rowen groaned.  He didn’t like to act polite around grown-ups all the time.  Usually he was the only kid around when they had guests over.  And he never really had anyone to play with anyway.  Rowen trudged down the stairs.  He could hear his mother and another woman talking.  He recognized the other woman’s voice.  It was his mother’s friend, Mrs. Tantura.  Mrs. Tantura hadn’t been over for a while; usually his mother went over to the Tantura’s house, instead of the other way around.  Rowen’s father was talking with Mr. Tantura.  He finished trudging down the stairs, and went to stand by his mother’s side.
 "Oh there you are Rowen, say hello to Mrs. Tantura," his mother instructed him.
 "Hi," he said shyly.
 "My, this can’t be the little boy I saw only a year ago can it?" Mrs. Tantura said with feigned amazement.
 Rowen smiled shyly and looked away.
 "Didn’t you say you brought Cora?  Where is she?" Mrs. Hashiba asked.
 "Yes, we did, she’s in the car.  She’s being a little shy," Mrs. Tantura answered, "But I’m sure she’ll be in in a moment, she’ll get lonely in the car, that’s assuming she doesn’t escape."
 The two women laughed at this as Rowen opened the front door and walked outside to the Tantura’s car.  He could see a girl about his age with blond hair sitting in the back seat, looking out the other window in the other direction.  Rowen tapped on the glass, and the girl turned her head towards him.  She had a slightly surprised look on her face, then she moved over to that side of the car, and opened the door.
 "Hi," she said.
 "Hi," Rowen replied slowly.
 "What’s your name?"
 "I’m Rowen, are you Cora?"
 "Yes, did my mom tell you?"
 "Yeah, she told my mom."
 "Oh."
 After a moment or two of silence, Cora got out of the car and closed the door.
 "Why is your hair blue?" she asked.
 "I don’t know it just is I guess.  Why is your hair yellow?"
 Cora smiled.  "I like your hair, not boring like mine or anyone else’s."
 "Thanks," Rowen said slowly, a little surprised, "most kids think I’m a freak because my hair is blue."
 "Well, I guess that I’m not really like most kids, I don’t always like what they do," she replied.
 Cora fiddled with her necklace.
 Rowen peered at it.  "Why do you have a lifesaver on your necklace?" he asked confused.
 Cora giggled.  "It’s not a lifesaver, it’s jade, silly."
 "Oh."
 "A lot of people think it’s a lifesaver."
 "Yeah, I’ll bet they do."
 Cora leaned against the car.  She looked down the road, lined with the forest one way, then looked down it the other way.
 Rowen turned back towards the house.  "You wanna come in?"
 Cora looked back toward him, and smiled meekly.  "Um, okay."
 The two walked to the house, Rowen opened the front door and the walked inside.  Their mothers were drinking tea and chatting away, while their fathers were elsewhere.
 "Cora!" Mrs. Tantura called.
 Cora walked over to her mother.  Rowen followed and stood beside his mother.
 "Hello Cora, how are you?" Mrs. Hashiba asked.
 "I’m fine, thank you Mrs. Hashiba." Cora answered.
 "That’s good," Mrs. Hashiba remarked.
 "So what have you two been up to?"  Mrs. Tantura asked.
 "Nothing," they replied almost in unison.
 "Why don’t you go for a walk in the woods?  You like the forest don’t you Cora?"  Mrs. Hashiba asked.
 Cora nodded her head eagerly.
 "Why don’t you go do that?" She suggested.
 Cora looked at Rowen, who looked back at her.  He shrugged.  "Okay."
 Cora smiled.  They said good-bye to their mothers, then left the house and started down the trail in the forest.  They pointed out various plants to each other, different animal tracks, and kinds of leaves.  They laughed and talked, as their friendship grew on their walk together, spotting an occasional deer or squirrel.  Stopping, they would watch it for a minute, and then continue along their way.
 Suddenly, Cora grabbed Rowen’s arm and motioned for him to be silent.  Then she pointed in a direction and whispered: "Look."
 He looked.  There, not even 10 feet away from them, was a slivery-gray wolf.  The wolf had brown eyes, and looked at them with an understanding, knowledge.  Then he cocked his ears, turned, and trotted away.
 Rowen and Cora continued on their way.  Rowen showed Cora a special place that he had found: a cliff overlooking the other side of the mountain valley, and the ocean.  Cora was overjoyed of the beauty of the scenery.  She couldn’t stop smiling, and she didn’t want to leave.  But the sun was setting, and they had to be back before dark.
 They reached the Hashiba home just as twilight set in.  They washed their hands, ate dinner, then it was time for Cora and her parents to leave.  They said good-bye to each other, their new friend that they had made that day.  Then Cora’s parents pushed her out the door and they left.