doorstep promise

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Chapter Three: The Promise at the Doorstep

By the time they were five, it felt like they had never lived a day apart.

From their first clumsy steps in kindergarten to afternoons spent chasing fireflies, their days were strung together like beads of sunlight and laughter.

The quiet boy still didn’t speak much, but he didn’t have to—his friend always filled the silence, and somehow, he understood everything anyway.

The joyful boy, in turn, couldn’t imagine telling his stories to anyone else. The best games, the best secrets, the best naps—all belonged to them.

But one evening, things were different.

The quiet boy had been sitting on the front step, hugging his knees, waiting for the usual knock that meant his best friend had come to drag him off for another adventure. When the knock finally came, he jumped up with a small smile—only for it to falter the moment he saw his friend’s face.

The joyful boy wasn’t grinning. His eyes were puffy, like he’d been crying earlier but didn’t want to show it.

“Hey…” he started softly, not like his usual self. “I… I’m not here to play today.”

Confused, the quiet boy tilted his head. His heart sank before he even knew why.

“My dad’s company is moving. Tomorrow. We’re… we’re leaving town.” His words tumbled out clumsily, too heavy for such a small mouth. “It’s far away. I don’t know when I can come back.”

The quiet boy’s eyes widened. His throat burned, and before he could stop himself, tears spilled fast down his cheeks. He let out a sound he never made in front of anyone—loud, broken sobs that shook his small frame.

The joyful boy panicked and grabbed both his hands. “Don’t cry! Please don’t cry—” His own voice cracked. His own tears finally slipped free.

“I don’t want to go either! But… but I have to.”

The quiet boy tried to shake his head, tried to beg him to stay, but all that came out were hiccups and sobs.

So the cheerful boy did the only thing he could. He leaned close, clutching his friend’s fingers tightly, and whispered with trembling determination:

“I’ll come back to you. No matter what. Will you… will you wait for me?”

Through blurred eyes, the quiet boy nodded again and again, unable to form words.

The joyful boy gave him a watery smile, then pulled him into a fierce hug, small arms squeezing as if he could freeze time.

That night, the quiet boy lay awake, clutching the sleeve his friend had left damp with tears. And though the cicadas sang like every other summer night, for the first time, the world felt unbearably quiet.

it was so sudden, everything fall away..he never expected that, his only best friend will leave him like this..

Will he find me again?

I'll wait for you ..

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