Aiko and the Paper Crane Club

A story about making friends through a shared hobby.

Aiko had just moved to a new school. She did not know anyone, and at lunchtime, she sat by herself on a bench. In her bag, she had a stack of coloured paper that her grandmother had sent from Japan.

She took out a sheet and began to fold. Fold in half, crease, fold the corners, open up, and press flat. Her fingers knew the pattern by heart. A few minutes later, she had made a little red paper crane with its wings spread wide.

A boy named Sam wandered past. “What is that?” he asked. “It is a crane,” said Aiko. “It is called origami.” “Can you make one for me?” he said. Aiko smiled. “I can show you how.”

She gave him a sheet of green paper, and talked him through each fold. Sam’s first crane was crooked, and its head pointed the wrong way. But he laughed, and said, “It looks like a very silly bird.” Aiko laughed with him.

The next day, two more children joined them. By the end of the week, there were eight. They called themselves the Paper Crane Club, and they met at lunchtime every Tuesday and Thursday.

One Thursday, a girl named Mara stayed behind. She looked sad. “My nanna is in hospital,” she said quietly. Aiko thought for a moment. “My grandmother says that a crane brings good wishes,” she said. “We could make her one.”

The whole club folded cranes that afternoon, until there were ten. Each child wrote a short message on a wing. “Get well soon.” “We are thinking of you.” They tied the cranes together with thread.

Mara carried the string of cranes to the hospital after school. Her nanna hung it on the window, and it twirled in the light. “What a beautiful gift,” she said, and she began to smile.

The next week, Mara told the club that her nanna was feeling stronger. Aiko looked around the table at her new friends, and thought of her grandmother. She was not alone at all.

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