When I See You Again

Chapter 2: Sandpits and Bad News

-Wesley's POV-

If you ask me what my first memory was, I would tell you, Aspen.

(Flashback)

It was a sunny afternoon and my parents had taken me to the neighborhood park.

I remember my mother telling me that I was too young to play with the big kids by the monkey bars, considering I was only three, and that I should find friends my own age. So that's what I did.

I walked over to the sand pit and saw a small girl with pale skin building what seemed to be a mermaid tail on top of her sand-covered legs. Her pasty arms swam around and dug for more sand to pack on to what she had already built.

I wanted to play with her, but I was scared. What if she laughed at me? Everyone else did. What if she turned out to be just like the others? But there was something that told me that she was not like the rest, a new found courage inside of me that forced me to go up to her.

I adjusted my glasses and slowly walked over to her.

"H-hi," I squeaked.

She looked up at me and I noticed the freckles that ran across the bridge of her nose to each cheek looked similar to the very sand she sat on.

"Hi," her voice was small, but there was a certain confidence behind it.

I stood there, not really knowing what to say the girl with a mound of tangled mousy brown hair atop her head.

"Can- um, can I play with you?" I dropped my gaze to the ground as I felt my cheeks burn with shyness.

The was a pause and I slowly looked up at her, suprised to find a smile plastered across her face.

"Of course!" Her face lit up with joy. Her blue eyes sparkled and she patted the sand next to her signaling for me to sit down.

"I'm Aspen," she introduced herself as she handed me her bright green sand bucket.

"I'm Wesley. Wesley... Daniel... Jackson." I said back, struggling to remember my full name, but saying it proudly nonetheless, just like my father had always told me to do when introducing myself.

"Wesley?" She confirmed, I'm guessing because of my small and quiet voice. I nodded, looking up at her smile that stayed constant.

As the sky changed into a darker shade of blue, it reminded me of her eyes. Those eyes, filled with so much love and compassion. I would never forget those eyes.

That day, I felt like a champion as I walked back home. This was the first time I had ever made friends, or even talk to someone first. I knew Aspen and I had become best friends that day, and I knew that she would always be there for me. Even our moms had become friends. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

***

As the days passed, our friendship grew. We became closer and closer with each passing moment. We were together all the time and did everything together. Going to school, eating lunch, studying, finishing homework, you name it. We practically lived at each other's houses. With one of us came both of us, and I wouldn't trade her for the world.

When school had started though, it was hard. We were both teased for being different. Not just because of our appearance, with our oversized glasses and "nerdy" behavior, but also because we weren't quite like the other kids. I, unlike the other boys, didn't care much for the ruff housing and sports, mainly because my parents had always told me to be careful because my glasses. And Aspen, while the other girls spent their time playing with dolls, Aspen preferred to spend her time reading a good book. But unlike me, Aspen tried to not let it get to her. She walked and sat confidently beside me without any guilt. To her, our friendship was more precious than whether we were like by others. That was what I valued most about her. No matter what others said, she never let it change her opinion.