Part 1.
“Let’s be best friends forever” The little girl with golden tresses whispers to her companion who is sitting cross legged beside her. She says it like a secret, like the rest of the world doesn’t need to know. It’s just for the two of them. The freckled face boy turns to her with the most innocent smile a child could wear. He thinks it goes without saying, puzzled why they have to speak it out loud for it to be so. Of course they’d always be friends. The girl holds out her pinky, her eyes holding a mature intensity for those few seconds it takes for the boy to wrap his own finger around hers.
“Forever and ever” He whispers back and the spring breeze carries their promise into the warm, sunny day.
***
Ed can remember the first time he met Taylor, or maybe he doesn’t so much as remember as he just knows. Kind of like those parts of a movie that you know happened even if you can’t quite get the detailed picture in your mind. It’s just a part of the story. He was only five years old, a pale awkward, freckle faced boy with fire engine red hair and glasses too big for his small face. His parents had dropped him off at the front of the school, pushing for independence even in the earliest stages of his life. The teacher leads him to a seat that has a card with his name on it. Still even with a piece of paper saying this spot belonged to him he felt out of place in the brightly painted room.
From the first moment he lays eyes on Taylor he thinks she’s a princess. A girl who is just a bit taller than the rest of the group walks in holding her mother’s hand tightly, a shy smile on her face. Her blue eyes are wide as she takes in the new scenery, fascinated by the colorful posters and decorations. She doesn’t look scared, she looks determined, something that will only magnify in the years to come. Ed goes still when she says hi to him. His throat closes up and he barely manages to squeak out a response. Taylor smiles at him brightly though, so sure that she’s made a new friend with the red headed boy.
That day leads to slaying imaginary dragons together in the summer grass and drawing pictures in the night sky with the stars, an inseparable duo from the very beginning. They go together perfectly. Balancing each other at an age when they don’t even realize or know that they need it. It is innocent childhood moments of swimming at the local pool on sweltering summer days, roasting marshmallows in the fireplace when it’s too cold to play outside, and leaning on each other to survive the rough years of public schooling. Ed gets glimpses of her laughter echoing out as they roll through grass going downhill, staining their clothes, or Taylor’s sweet voice singing along to a song she’s heard on the radio.
They bicker as kids. They share secrets behind bushes that they’ve turned into a club house. They avoid playing sports with the other kids during recess and hide inside the playground tunnels, making memories that the importance of which will not be recognized for quite some time. They read to each other in class while sitting on colorful rugs. He lets her draw pictures of unicorns on his arms with markers and his mom always make him scrub them off at night. When he’s eight he convinces his mom to buy him a ring pop at a gas station and he stores it away in his backpack until the weekend is over and he is sitting next to Taylor on the bus.
“I got you something” He tells her and immediately her eyes are filled with delight at the idea of a surprise. He rustles around in his bag until the package crinkles between his fingertips. “It’s a ring, because my mom said that when people want to be best friends forever that they give each other rings. That’s why my dad gave her one.” He explains to her like it’s the simplest idea in the world, which to him it is.
“You’ll always be my best friend” She smiles crookedly, accepting his gift.
Thinking back Taylor kind of intimidated him. Maybe it’s because she stands a little taller than him, or because she always knows the right answer in class, or because attention is just drawn to her magnetic charisma. He doesn’t ever really understand it as a young boy, but Taylor makes him nervous. The friendship is effortless in their earliest years. Grade school never challenges their bond, only strengthens it. It’s before clicks, and categorizing people, cool kids and nerds, cute or weird. They just play tag and he chases after Taylor with all his might. He’s always chasing her.
