“Boy, do we need your help, Madame! Shuly has been crying for three days because her friend moved away!”

My mother looked at Shuly and sighed.

My father looked at Shuly and said, “What’s going to be with her? She’s crying for three days already. Will she ever stop?”

You see, Shuly’s best friend, Naomi, had moved away and Shuly missed her so much that she could not stop crying. She cried when she woke up in the morning. She cried when she went to school. She cried when she ate supper and she was still crying when we went to sleep at night.

Her eyes were red, her nose was purple, and her cheeks were flushed like strawberries!

“You’ll speak to her on the phone,” my mother consoled her.

Shuly shrugged.

“You’ll visit her,” my father said.

Shuly shrugged.

“She’ll always be in your heart, because you won’t stop thinking about her,” I said.

Shuly cried harder.

“She’s making the whole house depressed,” Donny said. “I nearly feel like crying myself!”

“You?!” I asked in shock. Donny never cried. Even Shuly stopped sniffling for a second.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. I went to the door and there stood my favorite guest: Madame Chamberlaine!

I hugged her. “Boy, do we need your help, Madame! Shuly has been crying for three days because her friend moved away!”

“Elle pleure?” Madame asked.

She walked into the kitchen and put her hand around Shuly’s shoulders.

“Ma pauvre, petite fille!”

Shuly continued to cry.

“Come!” Madame said. “We’ll go visit Les Îles de Sentiments!”

“Where’s that?” Shuly asked wiping her eyes.

“You mean you’ve never heard of Les Îles de Sentiments?” Madame asked. “Oh la la! You girls are in for a whole lot of fun! Let me put my bags down and on y va!”

Soon, we were running after Madame Chamberlaine. She took us to a little port and rented a small motorboat.

“Jump in, mes amies!” she said.

Shuly, her eyes still a bit red, and I carefully stepped into the boat. The boat swayed. We quickly sat down.

Madame sat in the front.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Well, first stop is L’île de Surprise!” Madame said.

“Okaaaaay, sounds like it’s going to be a surprise!”

“It sure is,” Madame said. “Just wait and see.”

She turned the motor on and we shot out into the water! Soon, Madame stopped the boat close to a sandy beach. We helped her drag the boat onto the sand.

We walked toward some shacks we saw in the distance. Suddenly, a clown popped out from the sand.

I jumped back.

“Whoa!”

Shuly laughed. But then a live duck popped out next to her and she jumped back.

“Ahhhhh!” she yelled.

Madame laughed.

“See what I mean?” she said. “This island is full of surprises. Wait until you meet the people!”

As we walked, we looked in every direction for more surprises. A girl ran toward us. Her eyes and mouth were open wide in surprise.

“What a surprise to see you! Who are you?” she asked in a surprised voice.

(Excerpted from Mishpacha Jr., Issue 771)