A Long Way Gone Ch. 17-18

I liked these chapters. They were more happy! Ishmael has started to form closer relationships between people. Esther, for example, is like his confident. She listens to anything that Ishmael wants to tell her. She even gets him gifts! I think that when Esther gave Ishmael a Walkman, it was the start of their relationship. Ishmael doesn't always show it, but he likes their friendship. Another person that Ishmael has come into contact with again is his friend, Mohamed. The last time he had seen him was when Ishmael, Talloi, and Junior left for Mogbwemo for a performance in Mattru Jong. That was one of his three friends that he is close to. His other two friends are Mambu and Alhaji. Mambu and Alhaji had been friend since they had met up while they were running away from the rebels. That was before they were soldiers fighting the rebels. They went through tough things with each other and shared many memories with each other from the war. That is probably what has brought them closer together. Another person that he had become a lot closer with Ishmael was his uncle. They started taking walks together and talking about Ishmael's dad and just other things. His uncle never pestered him about Ishmael's past in the war. They had talked so much while they walked down the same path, that Ishmael knew where all the big rocks were without looking. One day, his uncle came to pick Ishmael up, because he was going to go to his uncle's house where he would be staying once he completed his rehabilitation and was able to leave. When he was at his uncle's house, Allie, who, was the oldest child in that family and was also the only son. Allie took Ishmael to a soccer game and while he was there he saw this girl that he thought had a beautiful smile. Allie then told Ishmael that she was their cousin. Ishmael then said, " I later became closer to her and Allie than to other children in my new family." Pg. 178 I was happy when I read this, because Ishmael is forming closer bonds between people more and he seems to be getting better. I'm not sure if he really is getting better, but for now it seems like it. I keep hoping though, that when he moves in with his uncle, that Ishmael doesn't forget Esther, who was so nice to him during his stay at the rehabilitation UNICEF compound. I also don't want him to forget Mohamed, Mambu, or Alhaji! Other than that, I'm excited to read more and see how Ishmael's future is progressing.