Something as Simple as Knowing a Name

It was a sunny day in that little street in that little town beside a little lake. The girl was standing on the sidewalk outside her house. She had just moved to the town and had yet to make any friends. She was soaking in the new surroundings, the different houses, and the trees arrayed along the street.

She was an introvert by nature and was quite content being by herself but in her heart she wanted to be make new friends as soon as possible.

The paper boy cycled past. He was going through his daily rounds of delivering the evening paper when he noticed the little girl. He wondered whether she was lost because he noticed she was looking around. He decided to offer his assistance since he knew the town like he knew the back of his hand.

"Hi," he greeted as he brought his bicycle to a halt.

The girl was surprised but elated to have the opportunity to meet someone. "Hello," she replied timidly.

"Are you lost?" asked the boy.

She shook her head. "I just moved here and I stay in this house," she pointed to her house behind her.

"Oh! That's cool." There was an awkward silence as the boy was unsure how to proceed. After a short pause he spoke, "So what's your name?"

"Janoah," she replied.

He was surprised to hear such a unique name. He had to ask her to spell it out so that he would know how to pronounce it properly. He admitted that he was not very good with uncommon names.

"I'm Evan." After introducing himself he remembered that he had to continue with his rounds so he bid her good bye and cycled along down the road.

As the days passed Evan would see Janoah around town but it was always during his rounds and she always seemed occupied walking along by herself or with friends so he did not stop to say hello.

Although he was the first friend Janoah ever made, the meeting with Evan was soon forgotten. Through all the unpacking of her belongings, going to the new school and making friends with the neighbours that meeting with Evan was forgotten albeit not on purpose on the part of Janoah.

One day Janoah was walking on her way home from school. She was feeling a little sad and lonely because she had no one to go home with on that particular day. It just so happened that Evan was cycling along the road coming from behind her. He recognized the girl to be Janoah and he decided that it would not hurt to say hello.

"Hi, Janoah," he greeted as he started to match his cycling speed with her pace of walking.

A look of utter surprise was evident on Janoah's face but there was a hint of happiness in her face. She was shocked that someone knew her and she felt happy because of that fact.

"How do you know my name?" she asked.

Evan laughed.

"I met you about a week ago when you were looking around outside of your house."

"Oh yeah," said Janoah, as realization began to flood her memory, "but I forgot your name."

"Its Evan," he replied with a smile. "I guess I'll be seeing you around then."

"Ok!" she replied cheerfully and with that Evan continued to cycle down the road ahead of her.

That short meeting really encouraged Evan. It did not bother him that his name was forgotten but rather he could not forget that hint of happiness in Janoah's face. He was just glad that he was able to brighten someone's day even by something as simple as knowing a name.

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Although I'm a believer in remembering people's names I still forget sometimes. Praise God that I have the mind of Christ and I would have improved memory.