As I tried to sleep, I found myself yearning for the sunrise, a desperate need to escape the suffocating grip of the night. The following day, the weight of the impending exams pressed down on me, exacerbating the anxiety that had taken root in my mind. I spent the entire morning cramming, my mind a whirlwind of forgotten formulas and half-remembered facts.
Leaving for the exam, I panicked when I couldn't find a bus. My heart pounded, the delay adding to the mounting tension. Finally, I hailed a taxi, relief washing over me. And then I saw him. Sitting across from me, his eyes, though still a bit wide, held a knowing glint. My breath hitched in my throat. 'What... what is your name?' I stammered, my voice trembling.
He smiled, a slow, gentle curve of his lips. 'Don't you remember, Jasper?'
He spoke of shared secrets whispered under the canopy of stars, of childhood adventures that had faded into the mists of time. He recounted a story of two young souls, bound by an invisible thread, their innocence shattered by the judgmental eyes of the world. 'We were inseparable,' he said, his voice tinged with a hint of melancholy. 'But the world... well, it had other plans. They said we were too young, that our friendship was... inappropriate. I was forced to leave, to move away for my studies.' He paused, his gaze searching my face. 'And now, here we are, seven years later, our paths crossing again.
As he spoke, a flood of fragmented memories surfaced – a shared picnic, a daring climb up a forbidden tree, the scent of pine needles and damp earth. But the image of him, chubby and rosy-cheeked, clashed with the lean, angular face before me. The years had transformed him, erasing the boy I thought I knew.
He stopped, his gaze searching my face. The taxi lurched forward, breaking the spell. 'I have to go,' I said, my voice barely a whisper. I stepped out of the taxi, leaving him sitting there, his expression a mixture of surprise and disappointment. As I walked towards the college, the weight of his words, the echoes of a forgotten past, threatened to overwhelm me.