There was once a really close friend.

He was a childhood friend of mine and we spent every good moment of our childhood togther.

“Yuri-chan, are you okay?” Ari asked me as I looked at him gazing at me. I realized that I slid on the snow and grazed my knee.

I felt a dull pain to where the skin had met the hard ice. I looked at the source of pain and saw that it was bleeding.

“Yuri-chan! Your foot...it's bleeding!” he exclaimed, tears almost escaping his eyes.

“Don't worry, Ari-kun. I'm alright,” I told him as I accepted his small hand to help me get up.

Ari was two years older than me. Despite the age gap, the two of us were really inseparable friends.

We would go to school together, go home together and even do our homework together. If I remember well, there was not one moment when I was sad when I was with him.

He seemed to be my source of joy, my happiness.

“Ari-kun, how to I do this?” I asked him, raising my notebook over to his direction.

“Hmm, it's just a simple problem where you use addition the subtraction,” he informed me, having gone through that lesson two years earlier.

“Ah! I understand now. Thank you, Ari-kun!”

As I grew from a seven-year-old to a 11-year-old, I began to notice that people began teasing us about how close we were. Who could blame them? We were really close, inseparable childhood friends.

“I heard that you're going out with Ari-kun. Is that true, Yuri?” one of my classmates asked me. If I could recall well, her name was Fukiko. Fukiko Wahatashi.

I looked up at her and replied with a smile, with all honesty,”Where can all that nonsense come from? Hehe. He's been my friend since probably the day I learned to walk. Probably even before that. Anyways, I'm too young to go out with him and I'm not even planning to.”

Oh yeah, how rude. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Miyuri Nakashima and here's a sad excerpt of my life.

All was fine until that day I found out he was going to leave me soon. I was 13 years old at that time when I received news that he was transferring to another country to study. He was 15 and newly graduated. I surprised that he never even got a girlfriend.

“Yuri-chan,” he stated.

“Yes?”

“I...I have something to tell you,” he said uneasily.

“What is it? You know you can tell me anything.”

“I...I'm...leaving,” he said the last word as if he was choking, pushing the word back in.

I looked at him with saddened eyes.

“Where?”

“To...to Manila,” he answered.

I felt an arrow of some sort pierce my heart. I then felt tears fall from eyes. He certainly can't be leaving, can he?

“I...I'm glad that you...chose-” I stopped before hugging him tightly.

I felt him pat my back. Then I hugged him tighter.

“Y-you...No...I-I'm glad t-that you chose to v-value your e-education,” I sniffled.

“If I knew you would cry, I should have chosen to stay,” he said soothingly, like an adult trying to silence a child.

Until know, I still can't explain how I got angry.

I pulled away from his embrace and began to shout.

“YOU K-KNEW ME FOR N-NEARLY 13 Y-YEARS! HOW CAN Y-YOU BE SO INENSITIVE TO N-NOT KNOW HOW I-I WOULD REACT?”

I was clearly angry now.

“Yuri, I-”

“FINE! GO DO WHATEVER YOU WANT WITH YOUR LIFE. THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ME NOW!”

“Listen, Yuri, I-”

“AND I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN! I HATE YOU!”

I then fell to the ground, crying bitterly. I kept thinking about how I managed to befriend such an insensitive jerk.

“I'll heed what you say, Yuri. I won't come near you anymore. I guess this is my last goodbye,” he said as he left me.

I continued to cry much harder. I then clenched my fists as I heard his footsteps walking away, gradually becoming fainter.

The day after that, I never saw him again. His close classmate informed me that he had left a few hours after I yelled at him.

I wanted to cry when I heard that.

“But he...told me to give this to you after you calmed down,” she spoke once more as she held out a pink envelope before me.

I took it hesitantly as if it were to explode.

“Thank you,” I said and bowed down before running off.

I ran off to my house, not caring if there were classes or not.

Once in my room, I sat on my bed and opened the envelope carefully.

I took note of the scent. It smelled like...cinnamon, my favorite scent.

I took out the letter and began reading silently.

Yuri-chan,

I am really sorry for making decisions without you. I know I deserved your anger and harsh words.

I wish to keep my word on heeding the last thing you said to me.

No, I wasn't angry at you. I even told myself that I deserved whatsoever you said.

I don't know why I even chose to go away from you. I keep wondering that.

I seek your forgiveness and may we meet again soon,

Ari

I felt tears slide down my face once more. I wiped them away but more tears came out.

I lay down on the bed and hugged my pillow tightly.

“Ari...I-I'm really sorry...” I spoke into the pillow. “Really sorry.”

I continued crying until I fell asleep. I had a strange dream.

“Miyuri, do I even know you?” Ari asked me as he looked at me along with another girl who was nearly his height.

“Whatever we had when we were young...is gone. Stop lingering to the past. I love Fukiko, deal with it.”

“Th-that's not true, Ari! I know that the person that I used to spend all my time with is still there! Slumbering in your heart!” I cried.

“Stop saying such things. I never even loved you. You were the one who forced yourself on me. You're nothing to me.”

These words hit me like multiple daggers stabbing my heart. I fell to the floor.

“Whatever I said in the past was all a big mistake.”

“And did you even try to fix that mistake?”

“I-I...I didn't...”

I woke up crying. I could swear that my pillow was all wet.

“Yuri-chan! Stop crying!” I heard a voice call from my window.

I wiped tears from my eyes but they still continued to fall. I got up and looked down my window.

More tears fell when I realized who it was.

“ARI! You came back!” I shouted, ignoring the fact that it was already 2am in the morning.

“I never even left,” he chuckled.

“But I thought...I thought...I thought you'd keep your word!” I exclaimed.

“But you broke yours. You looked extremely happy to see me again,” he smiled.

“Before I leave, I must tell you that I'm sorry. I'm really sorry,” he apologized.

“Huh? Sorry for what? Then I must tell you that I'm sorry as well.”

“Miyuri, promise me you won't cry...” he said with his voice fading.

I looked back at the window and realized that he was no longer there.

I rubbed my eyes and dismissed the thought that I was dreaming.

The next day, I saw on the news that the plane that I thought Ari had been riding crashed.

It was then that I knew why he was apologizing.