*FLASHBACK*
"Daddy, when's Mommy gonna be home?" I asked. Mom had been gone for months now.
"Your mommy's not coming back, Forrest." Dad told me.
"What? Why not?" I asked. Dad always had a way of explaining things so I'd understand.
Dad sighed as I saw a tear glistening in his eye. "She's in a better place."
"Can I go visit her?" I asked.
Dad ruffled my hair. "Sometime you can, Forrest. I love you so much."
"I love you too, Daddy." I said with a smile.
*PRESENT DAY*
That all happened 7 years ago. I don't know how my 5-year old self could've been so stupid to think Mom was coming back home.
I knew she was dead.
"Hey, Forrest. What's wrong?"
I snap out of my reverie and turn to my best friend. Emma. "Nothing."
Emma rolled her eyes. "Come on, Forrest. You've been distracted the whole time. I've been trying to talk to you."
"Sorry," I apologized. "I'm just thinking."
"What about?" Emma asked.
I sighed and stared out the window, thinking of her. My beautiful mom, who died when I was only 5.
"Forrest."
I turned back to Emma. "It's my mom."
Instantly, Emma's gaze softens. "How's she doing?"
I sighed yet again. "Em, I need to tell you something. Something I haven't told you yet."
Emma smiled. "I thought I knew everything about you. We've been best friends for 7 years, Forrest."
"I lied to you," I told her, looking down at my shoes. My dad always said shoes were the best gift you could ever get, and that you could tell a lot about a person from their shoes. My shoes, currently, are clean and white with the Nike symbol. I sighed and looked up at her.
"About what?" Emma asked, her face full of hurt. My heart ached for her.
"My mom's dead, Em."
Emma looked into my face my eyes, which are filled with silent tears.
"Oh, Forrest. I'm so sorry," Emma said, putting an arm around me gently. I put my head on her shoulder. She's the best friend ever.
"She's been dead for 7 years," I told her.
Emma stared at me in horror. "I..."
"I'm sorry I lied," I interrupted. "I'm so sorry, Em."
Emma put a hand on my shoulder and looked me right in the face. "You don't have to be sorry."
I smiled at her as my cheeks turned slightly pink.
"Hey, we're at school now," Emma told me as the bus pulled in.
*THAT NIGHT*
"Tell me a story, Dad," I requested hopefully. I love it when he tells stories to me. It's so interesting, and I learn a lot.
"Well," Dad started. "The first day of kindergarten, I got on the bus, and everyone said that the seats were taken."
I nodded. "Go on."
"I was just about to cry when someone said that I could sit next to them," Dad continued with a sad smile on his face.
"Who was she?" I asked.
"The most beautiful girl in the world," Dad replied. He still had the sad smile on his face as he stared out the window. "Your mother."
"Oh. So that's when you met?" I asked. I wasn't surprised. Dad told me that he met my mom at a young age, but he'd never told me the full story before.
"Yup," Dad told me with a grin. "She looked gorgeous, just like an angel. So I sat down, and we were best friends ever since." Dad's eyes got slightly watery, just like mine already were.
"You think that'll happen with me and Emma?" I asked.
"Oh, Forrest, I don't know," Dad told me. "But if you want it to happen, it can happen. Do you think she's gorgeous?"
I thought about it. Emma had brown eyes and brown hair, cut to just the right length for her face. Her smile was pretty.
But was she gorgeous? There were some girls at school that were, and Emma was definitely not as pretty as them. But she was beautiful. And to me, she was gorgeous.
Just like my mom was.
"Yes," I told my dad. "She's gorgeous."
Dad smiled. "Take care of her, Forrest. Don't let anything happen to her. Don't let her go."
"I won't," I said with a smile. "I promise."
