Due to the COVID-19 pandemic (流行病), the social distancing commands separated family members from each other in 2020. However, it also resulted in some lifelong friendships between people who would have otherwise never met.
The unlikely friendship between 99-year-old Mary and her two-year-old neighbor, Benjamin began in May 2020. The lockdown was particularly hard for Mary, who has been living alone since her husband passed away 37 years ago. Her other family members are in other states. The 99-year-old spent her days watching television game shows. Benjamin, a then one-year-old who lived next door, was also stuck at home and unable to play with kids of his age.
The unusual friendship developed gradually. At first, Mary would wave at Benjamin from her window whenever she saw the young boy in the yard. Then, she began adventuring outside to greet him in person. The routine eventually expanded to daily gatherings by the fence that separated the two homes. The unlikely pair even invented a socially distanced game that Mary calls cane (手杖) ball. "I came out of the house one morning, and he threw his ball toward the fence," she said. "I got my cane, and I reached over the fence and hit the ball toward him, and he'd throw it back. That's how it started."
When the weather turned cold, the two were unable to meet in the yard as regularly. But Benjamin's mother, Sarah, kept the friendship alive by often stopping by Mary's house with the kid. The friendship between the two has developed even further since Mary got vaccinated (接种疫苗) earlier this year. The two give each other hi-fives across the fence and often sit outside Mary's house. This spring, Mary and Benjamin gifted each other with their favorite.
Benjamin now goes to daycare three times a week. But he still regularly makes time to visit his best friend who he refers to as "Mimi". "Friendship really knows no boundaries," Sarah said "Certainly, you wouldn't guess that a 99-year-old and a 2-year-old would be friends, but they can be. And they both get a lot out of it."
