Some memories are meant to stay in our heart forever.
Others to wait patiently in the dusty corner, hoping to be
found again.
Emma never thought that a simple day of cleaning the house
would take her back ten years.
After her graduation from London, she returned home for
summer. Life changed since she has left. New place, friends, and new dreams had
filled her life with excitement. Yet, she felt something familiar, standing in
front of her grandmother’s old apartment felt familiar.
The apartment was empty for past few years. Dust covered the
shelves; the golden rays of the sun peeped through the old windows. Emma was busily
cleaning the room suddenly she noticed some strange box in the attic.
She picked up the box and carefully dusted the box. Beneath
the dust, the wood still held its charm, carrying the marks of time and
countless forgotten years.
Inside she saw an old journal tied with a faded blue ribbon.
Emma slowly opened the cover. A photograph slipped from the
pages and landed on the floor.
She froze.
It was a picture of her and Nagul.
For a moment, the attic disappeared. She was back to sixteen
again.
It was the photograph that they had been taken on the last
day of school.
Nagul was her friend right from childhood. They both were
best friends right from kindergarten. As the years passed, their friendship
grew stronger. They walked to school together, and spend countless of weekends
playing in the seashore near her house.
Everyone knew them as best friends.
As Emma held the photograph in her hands, memories flooded
her mind. It was the photograph taken when both she and Nagul had just
lost their milk teeth. They stood side by side, proudly showing their toothless
smiles to the camera.
Looking at it now, Emma couldn't help but laugh.
She remembered the day where they would spend hours
decorating them with leaves, flowers, and tiny pebbles, proudly calling them
their "dream homes."
Their hands were covered in dirt, and they argued endlessly
about whose castle was bigger.
Back then, life was simple.
No worries.
No goodbyes.
Just friendship.
Emma smiled as she traced her fingers over the faded
photograph.
Nagul was her best friend since kindergarten. They had
shared everything right from lunch boxes, storybooks, secrets, and dreams. They
both were there for each other at good and bad times.
As time flies, their friendship grew stronger. Together they
celebrated birthdays, studied for exams, and spent countless weekends under the
old banyan tree near their school playground. Then came high school. Life
became busier and their dreams became bigger. Yet somehow, they found time for
each other.
Emma turned another page of the journal. A small dried rose
slipped out of their lap.
Her eyes widened. It was the rose that was tucked into her notebook
on the last day of high school. And there was piece of paper Emma
carefully opened it.
Inside, in Nagul's familiar handwriting, were a few simple
words:
"No matter where life takes us, you'll always be my favourite
friend."
At the bottom of the note was a phone number.
And one final line.
"If you ever find this journal again, call me."
Emma smiled.
Ten years had passed, but some memories never faded.
