It was that type of weather where the sun hid behind its white cover, allowing a pure whiteness to blanket over the world. It was an average school day -- one that I had slogged through with much effort. Instead of feeling triumphant, having survived such a day, I felt half-beaten. That feeling of mediocre mixed in with a sprinkle of boredom haunted me as I walked home. Looking around, I felt a spark of happiness when I saw my best friend walking ahead of me. Running towards him, I felt free of my brain-dead numbness that had haunted me for so long. An idea popped into my head -- to sneak up on him and surprise him, but as I drew near, he suddenly turned around. A raised eyebrow confronted my sheepish, guilty face. We sustained the stare for a few seconds, then dropped it and laughed. For the rest of the walk home, we turned back into young children on a sugar rush. Lively and energetic with a great sense of humor, my best friend was always there to lift my spirits and support me when I was feeling down, and he was especially good at shocking me back into reality. My best friend had been with me as I walked through the shadows of the valley of death.

It was then that he suddenly stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, accompanied by a silly cheerful ringtone. I assumed that he was going to pick it up and hang up immediately after, but 6 paces later, I realized he wasn’t moving. With a concerned look on his face, he hung up and told me that he was moving to Irvine. I laughed with uncertainty, thinking that this was an off-topic joke. He kept his serious face on. I no longer thought that this was a joke. 

Time passed in a flash. Our struggle against it was harrowing, but was ultimately futile. Scheduling as many meet-ups as time allowed, we tried to make the best of the situation. Day after day passed, which turned into weeks, which turned into months -- it seemed like it was all happening in one minute. Our meetups were full of empty laughter. When we finished laughing, we would make eye contact and the mood would immediately switch to sorrowful desperation. Trying to make use of anything that we could, we crammed our schedules full, fought with all our might to extend each meeting, and clutched onto the few seconds that we had left of each one.