The Grand Patch-up

Karthika G

Mary Sangma and Josana Marak are next-door neighbours and best friends.
One day, Josana showed Mary a waistband that she had spent days making.

“I made it for my mother. What do you think?” Josana asked excitedly.
“I don’t think she’ll ever wear it. I would never wear it,” Mary replied.
Josana got up and left.

The next morning, Mary waited for Josana. They walked to school together every day.
But Josana had left without her.

For lunch, Mary had brought the dried fish curry that Josana loved.
But Josana ate with Caroline instead.

That evening, Mary waited for Josana at home. She wanted to play with the toy cars that the two of them had built with her father.
But Josana didn’t come.
Mary looked at all the things she had built with Josana in the yard: the flute, the bird house, and the train track.

She put her cars aside.
She pulled two thick bamboo poles and laid them side by side.
She lay a thinner pole across the two and tied it with cane, like she had seen her father do.
She tied another pole in the same way, in the opposite direction.
She placed many smaller poles one after the other and tied each of these down.
Then she dusted her hands, and looked at what she had built.
A long, messy rectangle! Jo sana would have enjoyed building this, Mary thought.

Mary tried lifting the rectangle and placing it on her shoulders.
She stumbled.
She tried again. This time it was easier.

“Where to?” Samuel, her elder brother, asked.
“To Josana’s,” Mary replied.

There was Josana, in her usual spot.
Mary scrambled up a tree near Josana.
“Go away!” said Josana, frowning.

Samuel climbed up
and sat next to Mary.
He gave her a rope to hold,
and held one himself.

Samuel and Mary took a deep breath, and pulled the rectangle up with all their might.
KIRRRRICK-KIRRRRICK.
PHEW!
They then made it lie flat between them.

When Mary reached the other side, Josana was still frowning.
Her eyes moved from Mary to the rectangle, and then back to Mary.
“Do you think we can build a train to run on this?” Josana asked, breaking into a smile.

From Here to There
Mary builds a small bridge to reach her friend Josana.
If their bridge is fixed onto the trees on both sides, this becomes a beam bridge. A beam bridge is the simplest type of bridge to build.
These bridges may be big, made of steel and concrete, or they could be small, made of wood and stones.
Have you ever spotted a beam bridge?