JAY POV The morning after Kiefer left, I woke up and forgot.
For a few seconds, everything felt normal.
I smiled , Then i rember Kiefer was in London.
My smile disappeared.
I stared at the cieling , that boy why is he like, that why he leave this city he would probebly be bored of me , “AHHHHHHHH” shut up he just went cause of his family we will meet when we will be older , then i start thinking what he would be doing now , Maybe he was sleeping.
Maybe he was unpacking.
Maybe he was looking at his new room.
Maybe…
I stopped myself.
I didn’t want to think about it.
I got dressed and went downstairs.
Mom asked me if I wanted breakfast.
I said yes.
But I barely ate.
Everything felt strange Someone was missing.
Kiefer.
My best friend.
My first friend.
The boy who had been beside me for years.
I kept telling myself it was okay.
People moved.
People changed schools.
Friends stayed friends.
We had promised.
Forever.
So why did my chest hurt?
I didn’t understand.
I was only ten.
I didn’t know why losing someone for a while could feel like losing a piece of your whole world.
I just knew I missed him.
A lot.
That afternoon, I went to the park.
I didn’t even tell Mom where I was going.
I didn’t need to.
The park had become our place long ago.
I walked along the familiar path.
Past the swings.
Past the little playground.
Past the football field.
And then I saw our tree.
I stopped.
For years, I had always seen Kiefer first.
He would be sitting beneath the tree, kicking his shoes against the dirt.
Or playing with his football.
Or pretending he wasn’t waiting for me.
Sometimes he’d shout: “You’re late!” Even when I wasn’t.
I smiled.
Then I realized he wasn’t there.
I walked toward the tree slowly.
I sat down in our usual spot.
I looked at the empty space beside me.
It looked completely normal.
Just grass.
Just dirt.
Just a tree.
But it felt like the biggest empty space in the world.
I whispered, “Hi, Kiefer.” There was no answer.
I laughed quietly at myself.
“You’re not here.” I looked down.
“I forgot.” I pulled my knees toward my chest.
For some reason, I suddenly wanted to cry.
So I did.
Just a little.
I wiped my eyes quickly.
Nobody was supposed to see.
Especially not Kiefer.
He’d make fun of me.
Then he’d probably say something stupid until I laughed.
I missed that.
I missed everything.
The next day, I went again.
And the day after.
Soon, I started going every afternoon.
It became our routine.
Except he wasn’t there.
Sometimes I’d bring my book.
Sometimes I’d bring snacks.
Sometimes I’d bring the football he had forgotten at my house.
I never moved it.
I kept it beside me.
It felt silly.
But it made the empty space beside me feel a little less empty.
I started talking to him.
Not really.
Just in my head.
I’d sit under the tree and think: You’d laugh at this.
Or: You’d hate this song.
Or: You’d definitely be scared of that spider.
Sometimes I’d actually say things aloud.
“Guess what happened at school today?” Then I’d pause.
I could almost hear his voice.
“What?” And I’d tell him.
It was weird.
But it helped.
A few weeks passed.
I started getting used to him not being around.
But I didn’t want to get used to it.
That was the strange part.
I wanted life to feel normal again.
But normal without Kiefer didn’t feel like normal.
I started noticing little things.
Whenever something funny happened at school, my first thought was: I need to tell Kiefer.
Whenever I got a good grade: I need to tell Kiefer.
Whenever someone annoyed me: I need to tell Kiefer.
Whenever I was sad: I wanted Kiefer.
I realized something.
Kiefer wasn’t just someone I spent time with.
He had somehow become part of the way I lived.
And I didn’t know how that happened.
I didn’t know when it happened.
Maybe it happened under the tree.
Maybe it happened during all those afternoons.
Maybe it happened the day he first kicked that stupid pebble toward me.
I didn’t know.
I just knew that I wanted him back.
One evening, I was sitting beneath the tree when my phone rang.
Kiefer.
I answered immediately.
“Hi!” “Hi, Jay.” His voice.
I smiled.
I hadn’t realized how much I needed to hear it.
“How’s London?” “Okay.” “Just okay?” “It’s cold.” I laughed.
“You hate the cold.” “I know.” “Then come back.” “I wish.” There was silence.
Then I asked, “Did you make friends?” “Yeah.” I didn’t know why, but my heart felt strange.
“Who?” “A boy named Ethan.” “Oh.” “What’s wrong?” “Nothing.” “You sound weird.” “I don’t sound weird.” “You do.” I rolled my eyes.
“You’re annoying.” He laughed.
And suddenly, everything felt normal again.
For a few minutes, it didn’t matter that he was in London.
It didn’t matter that I was sitting under the tree alone.
He was there.
Just through the phone.
Before we ended the call, I asked, “Kiefer?” “Yeah?” “Do you miss me?” He didn’t answer immediately.
Then he said, “Every day.” I smiled.
“Me too.” I looked at the empty place beside me.
“Every day.” Sometimes I wondered why I cared so much.
Why did I miss him more than anyone else?
Why did hearing his voice make me so happy?
Why did seeing his name on my phone make my heart jump?
I didn’t know.
I was ten.
I didn’t have words for those feelings.
So I called it friendship.
Because that’s what it was.
At least, that’s what I understood.
He was my best friend.
My favorite person.
The person I trusted most.
The person I wanted beside me.
Maybe it was more than friendship maybe i just fell for him .
Love a word i have only heard from older people when i asked mom she said you are too young for this and i asked her are in love she said i love your dad thats why i marry him , i asked her “how would you know you are in love ” she said it will happened even when you dont know what love is “AHHHHHHH” he is driving me insane .
KIEFER POV London was huge.
That was the first thing I noticed.
Everything seemed bigger.
The roads.
The buildings.
The school.
The crowds.
There were people everywhere.
And yet somehow, I had never felt more alone.
I unpacked my room.
I put my football on the shelf.
I arranged my books.
I placed my favorite things exactly where I wanted them.
But it still didn’t feel like my room.
Because Jay wasn’t there.
I kept looking at my mom phone.
Waiting.
Hoping.
Every time it buzzed, I grabbed it immediately.
Sometimes it was a random notification.
Sometimes it was nothing important.
But whenever Jay’s name appeared, I smiled.
She was the only thing that made London feel familiar.
My first day at school was strange.
Everyone already knew each other.
I stood near the playground, holding my football.
A boy walked over.
“You play?” I nodded.
“Yeah.” “Come on.” I followed him.
We played football.
It was fun.
I laughed.
I even made a new friend.
But every time something funny happened, I looked around.
Jay wasn’t there.
Here, nobody knew me like that.
Nobody knew about the pebble.
Nobody knew about the tree.
Nobody knew that I hated spiders.
Nobody knew that Jay was the person I called when I had something to say.
I missed her.
That night, I called her.
“Hey.” “Hey.” “What did you do today?” “I went to the park.” Again.
She went every day.
I smiled.
“Did you sit under the tree?” “Obviously.” “Did you save my spot?” “Of course.” I lay back on my bed.
“Good.” “Why?” “Because that’s my spot.” She laughed.
“You’re not even here.” “It’s still mine.” “Fine.” There was a pause.
Then she asked, “Do you like London?” I looked around my room.
“No.” She laughed.
“Why?” “Because you’re not here.” She became quiet.
I didn’t know why.
I had just said what I was thinking.
“I miss you,” I added.
“I miss you too.” Days became weeks.
Weeks became months.
I made friends.
I learned the streets around our new house.
I joined a football team.
I learned where the best snacks were sold near school.
I even started liking some things about London.
But there was still one thing I couldn’t get used to.
Coming home and not being able to walk to the park.
Not seeing Jay.
Not hearing her laugh in person.
Not having her beside me.
I kept the friendship bracelet she gave me on my wrist.
Sometimes I touched it without thinking.
It reminded me that she was still there.
Somewhere far away.
One afternoon, I found a little shop selling keychains.
There was one shaped like a tiny pink star.
I immediately thought of Jay.
I didn’t know why.
I just did.
So I bought it.
When I got home, I wrote her a letter.
I told her about school.
About Ethan.
About football.
About London.
And then I wrote the part I really wanted to say.
I miss you.
I stared at those words.
Then I added: I miss everything.
I folded the letter and put it in the envelope.
Mom helped me send it.
I couldn’t wait for her to get it.
That night, I lay in bed.
The city lights shone through my window.
I thought about the park.
The tree.
The bench.
The pebble.
The first day.
The last day.
And Jay.
I wondered what she was doing.
Maybe she was at the park.
Maybe she was sitting under our tree.
Maybe she was reading.
Maybe she was thinking about me too.
I smiled.
We were far apart.
But somehow, she still felt close.
I closed my eyes.
“Goodnight, Jay.” And somewhere thousands of miles away, beneath the tree where our friendship had started, Jay whispered the same thing.
“Goodnight, Kiefer.”