"Do we really have to move away mom??", asked Ren as his mother was packing his stuffs. "son it's for your father's work. We'll buy you whatever you want there". " really?? ", he asked excitedly. " anything for you" mom said.

"I will go and meet Aoi before we leave".

Ren as a 10 year old boy runs to see his bestfriend excitedly to tell him that they were moving for dad's work and his parents would buy him anything.

"Aoi!! Aoi!!!" he shouts from afar when he sees his friend playing in the front yard. Aoi shouts back "Ren, you're here, come let's play " excitedly. " Aoi, my family will be moving to the big city today for my dad's work and my parents said they'll buy me anything there".

Suddenly Aoi's face turns all blue. Even though they were kids Aoi knew that his family and Ren's were very different. Ren's family owns a big company and Aoi's families were just mere farmers.Aoi was very mature for an 8 yo boy. He knew that one day or the other Ren would move away and he'll be all alone.

"what's wrong?" Ren asked. "Ren" said Aoi. " Let's say you move away today. will you ever come visit me or if i come to the city one day when we are all grown up, will you still remember me?". " Aoi, what are you talking about. You are coming with us right? ". Aoi stared at the ground trying to hold his tears back as he muttered " it doesn't work like that Ren, you should know! You are 2 years older than me". " what do you mean"? " i can't come with you and your family Ren"

Ren's eyes were overflowing with tears as he shouted " no Aoi you're coming with us, i will tell my parents to take you with us". " No Ren, i can't..... I... I .. I can't come with you. Visit me someday and if you don't wait for me. I'll come to the city to visit you but you have to go now".

As Ren leave Aoi's house with tears in his eyes he promise Aoi that he would come and visit often and play together like they always do. "Ren it's a promise then. You'll come and visit", Aoi shouts at Ren. "it's a promise. Take care until then", Ren shouts back.

Little did they know they would possibly not meet again.......

  "Aghhh ..... Asahi-san.... Mhmmm", Aoi moans and whimpers. "Y... You're... you're hurting me... A.. A.. Asahi-san, please st... Stop". " Aoi, you're mine and only mine", Asahi grunt. " you cannot get away from me". Asahi is the rebellious kid in all of the Green School. Somehow, along the way Aoi ended up dating him. "Aoi, I'm not trying to hurt you. You know that right"? Asahi whispers into Aoi's ears. " In two months you will be moving to the city". Even though Asahi was rough with him. He never lets Aoi forgets that he loves him. "Tell me Aoi, will you remember me or forget me like Ren forgot about you and you ended up with me?".Aoi slapped Asahi and told him that he had gone too far by mentioning his childhood bestfriend. But Aoi came to learnt with time that he was in love with Ren all along.

When Ren's family moved away Aoi waited for days for Ren's first visit. Days turns into weeks , weeks turns into months and months turns into years. 10 horrible years for Aoi have gone by. He's with Asahi now. He would've forgotten Ren by now. Right??? Wrong! Not a single day passes by he hasn't thought about Ren. Aoi often goes to Ren's family house to check if anyone was home but would go back disappointed every day.

"Asahi-san" Aoi whispers with tears in his eyes. Even though Ren was always in his mind Aoi knew that Asahi was the one who's been taking care of him all these time. "Asahi-san, I'm sorry to do this but I can't be with you anymore"

" I knew you were gonna say that, Aoi", Asahi said with a half fake grin on his face. " You were never good with distance relationship ". " you would always cry yourself to sleep if i was out of town or out to visit my grandparents ". Aoi burst into tears when he realised how much Asahi loves him and how stupid he was to go to a city he's never been before and possibly looking for a guy who had left him 10 years ago.

So Asahi came to the city and enrolled in a new college as a fresher. Aoi was sprinting as fast as he could "I never thought i would be an hour late for my first day" Aoi complaint. But he was put into a stop when he bumps into a tall dark haired guy with volleyball in his hand. He could do nothing but to stared at that perfect face and dream all day. He was suddenly brushed off by the stranger . "Are you blind?" exclaimed the stranger. Aoi bows and says, "sorry, i am late for class. Here's my number I'll treat you sometime as an apology. Thank you for your understanding" Aoi hands him a piece of paper and ran away.

As the stranger was staring at the paper about to throw it away he saw Aoi written on it and thought to himself, "could this be Aoi? My childhood bestfriend?". Memories flooded back into his mind and he thought of how he had not fullfilled his promise.

.........................

Ren then went on his way for practice. He was usually the best among his peers but that day hit different from the others. "Why had i never visited him. Why did i forget about him", he thought then his girlfriend Hina shouted, "Ren! You got this" but little did she know that the Ren he knew was gone when he met Aoi his childhood friend.

Ren went home after a day of practice straight to the kitchen where his mother was cooking. "mom", Ren said. "you know Aoi? My childhood bestfriend in the village?" he added. His mother's face lit up with joy, "ofcourse son. What about him". She knew and loved Aoi like his own son when they were still in the village .

"I think i bumped into him today".

"what? No. He's in the village, remember?"

" yes but on the day we left we made a promise that I will go and visit him often and if I don't he'll come and visit me when we are all grown up. I think he's here for me"

" son Aoi's family is not as well to do as ours. Maybe you're just seeing things "

Ren shows his mother the piece of paper Aoi had given him.

"See. It's his name there"

"Son, it could've been some other Aoi you met. Its a big world you know".

Ren's eyes were filled with tears by now

"Ma, why have we never visited him. I totally forgot about him after having new friends. Ma, am I this horrible"

Ren rushed to his room while his mother was trying to comfort him. He stared at the cealing fan and reminiscing the past with Aoi. He is now determined to find out about this Aoi guy if he was really his friend.

The next morning Ren went to the place where he had bumped with Aoi to wait for him. luckily a few minutes later Aoi passes by. He put on his fierce look and shouted at Aoi, "hey, you. You owe me a dinner. I'm hungry. Let's go". And he pulled Aoi without giving him time to think.

They sat at the diner with awkward silence. The people around can feel the awkwardness and left. "so Aoi *sighs*" Ren said. Aoi looked at him with full attention," yes".

"where are you from and why are you here"

" long story short, I'm here to study and hopefully meet an old friend "

Ren realise that this was the Aoi he knew long ago. He tried his best to hold back tears and finally spoke with a shaky voice.

"An old friend? How long ago was that"

Aoi felt the shaky words coming out of Ren.

"sir, are you okay?"

"Are you allergic to anything?"

" I'm fine. It's nothing "

" so, how long ago was it"

" Well , this may sound absurd but 10 years ago i had this friend. We promised one of us would visit the other. I've been waiting for him for 10 years. Since i haven't seen him I thought he might have some problem. So I'm here"

Aoi went on and explained everything to Ren and they chatted a bit.

"you know my name. What's yours?" Aoi said.

" Aiko", Ren replied not willing to reveal his identity yet.

They exchanged numbers and went on their way.

A few hours later, Ren was on his bed calling Aoi.

"hello"

"hi, Aoi?"

"Yes, how can i help?"

" Thank you for the dinner today".

" Don't mention it"

" next time it's on me"

Ren was relieved that he had met his childhood friend. " but what about him? He's still looking for me".

" Aoi. I need to tell you something "

"please wait my mom's on the other line" said Aoi a hung up.

Ren was about to tell Aoi that he's Ren and tell him everything that's been going on but fate is a ***** sometimes. He close his eyes thinking about the happy old days and fall asleep.

To be continued........