Reflection

A gaze upon the sky by innocent eyes yearning to discover the universe’s great truths. It seems so long ago as Father Time pushes everything and everyone forward. The grass was soft and itchy, and the satellites twinkled above in the cool air. My mom called me inside, but I begged for a few more minutes. He was the only one I could beg for more time with, and he always would be. As usual, it was granted. We continued to stare, conversation unnecessary. The other’s company was most important. Many evenings passed in this fashion before we reluctantly said goodbye. He would leave for his house ten minutes away, and I would watch from my door until he was down the street. Much of our free time was spent with each other, and it still remains one of the most peaceful times in my life.

He was my best friend whether by accident or by fate. As symbolic as it was literal, he made me take that leap of faith with him on the steps during recess. Together we started a journey that would shape not only our teenage years but the rest of our lives. He would become the one I couldn’t wait to see, the one I would do anything for, even cheat and commit academic dishonesty. I, the straight A valedictorian, put his name on my work so he would graduate with me. One summer that is still clear in my mind, I watched him cross the grass from the shade of our meeting tree. Perhaps a cliché, I found myself grinning so dumbly that I had to look away.

I have always been a critic of teenage love because teens know nothing of the real world. What life have they experienced to understand that emotion? Still, I feel I must say I was perhaps the biggest hypocrite. I always cared for him, but the true way I felt was deeper than friendship, perhaps even that something more. I did love him, and what ever that meant never mattered. He knew and I knew what it was.

He was my best friend. He saved me, made me jump from that step. We grew up together, went on a journey of our dreams and imaginations, and even wrote a thousand page story. He showed me anime and trance, what a friend could be, this emotion that I still cannot describe. Did I love him? Do I miss him? The answer to both is yes. Even though life has pulled us onto separate paths, those memories and experiences mean more than that. Life is a journey, and your companions will change whether by choice or necessity. But I would be less prepared for that journey had he not made me take that leap those years ago. For that I will always be thankful, even if I never tell him