Page 16 of Blue Gold

“What is it, sweetheart?” I asked after sitting on the edge of the mattress.

Instead of answering me with her words, Maya showed me a book. The Little Prince.

It was the story of a little prince who traveled to Earth from a distant planet because he felt lonely and wanted to make friends. This tale was Maya’s favorite, and apparently, it had become mine as well.

With her cuddled at my side, I began reading from page one, slowly going over the words and watercolored illustrations she admired. She was deep asleep around the middle of the book, but I didn’t stop reading. As I finished the story, I couldn’t help but think about Elliot and how lonely he must have felt when he came to New York City, the loneliest place in the world, to find a friend.

5

DANIEL

“C’est impossible!” Elliot grunted before tossing his pencil on the English for Beginners Vol 2 I’d bought him.

“Come on, now.” I placed the pencil back in his hand. “Try and say it in English.”

He huffed and puffed as he glared at me with great annoyance.

One of the things I’d come to learn about him in the past two months since we started these English lessons was that he had an attitude. And whenever things didn’t go his way, oh boy. This young man was as stubborn as a mule.

“I-it is… impossible?” He stuttered the words in English through a heavy accent.

“See? When you want, you can complain in perfect English.” I clapped my hands when he rolled his eyes.

“Cette langue n’a aucun sens.”

“In English, Elliot.”

“This langue⁠—”

“Language,” I corrected his pronunciation.

He pursed his lips, eyes narrowing at me. “This language does not made sense.”

Pride filled my chest because when we started these lessons, Elliot couldn’t form a complete sentence. It was impressive to see how much progress he’d made in only two months. And in this short time, I’d learned that his biggest obstacle wasn’t the language—considering his quick absorption—but his lack of confidence. Elliot did much better in writing and reading than he did in speaking because he was too self-conscious of how he sounded. To put it simply, he felt embarrassed to speak and be misunderstood, and this fear held him back.

“Very well, although notice the tense,” I explained in French before switching to English. “This language doesn’t make any sense.” I grabbed the pencil from him and wrote it down. “Made—” I underlined the word. “—is past tense, while make—” Another underline. “— is present.”

Elliot’s eyes went over my handwriting before he pulled the notebook closer to him and read it. I knew he was struggling, but seeing his desire to learn was inspiring.

“There’s too much to learn,” he muttered in French when I remembered something.

“I almost forgot, I got you something.”

Reaching for my briefcase, I placed it in my lap and rummaged inside until pulling out⁠—

“A Discman?” Elliot gasped as he snapped the round device from my hands. “This is amazing!”

He began pushing buttons and checking the disc player from all angles while I pulled out a few CDs and a pair of headphones, which he hurried to take from me.

“I used to have a Walkman in France, but my brother accidentally broke it,” he said with excitement, then paused. “Did it cost a lot?”

“Nothing you should worry about.” I reached for the headphones and grabbed them from him. “Here, try them on,” I said, already putting them on his head.

Elliot quickly covered the headphones with his palms, a big smile on his face. “How do I look?” he asked, eyes full of joy.

“Exquisite.”

He laughed, causing me to frown.