I open my eyes with child like excitement,when my Mom woke me up to say that we are almost home.I can see our little town as we descended from the mountains.The ride from the city to our hometown  has been long and tiring.Finally I am back home.I can't wait to be back in my own room and to be back with my friends.

I looked at the fields along the way ,the farms that seems to stretched out and so wide open,so much space and so much fresh air,finally I can breath freely...I can see the farmers on their toil,working on their farms with their bare hands.Soon enough,we entered the town proper and everything still looks the same.Nothing has changed.Two months I am gone and everything still looked the same,just like the way I left them.You can say that change is quite slow in my town and I love it...

I ran all the way up to my room.And everything is still the same.I love the familiar feeling and yes so glad to be home.It is still early in the afternoon,so I decided to go up to the hill again to see if it is still the same like in my dreams.I passed by Yehsung's house and he saw me,as he came out to greet me.I missed my friend but somehow,even though I knew that he missed me, somehow he is withdrawn and I feel like there was this distance between us , that was never there before.

"Hebe,you are back?" Yesung asked.I can see the excitement in his eyes.I thought for a second,he will give me a hug or something but he just stood there and looked at me.

"Yes,I just came back today.How's your summer?" I asked.

"It is alright.I went to my Mom's place.Met some new friends." he said,as he smiled at me.

"I am going to the hill.You want to go with me?" I asked.I saw the hesitancy on his part.I can feel some changes in him.When before he would readily said yes when ever I ask him for something,somehow today,something is holding him back.

"Yeah,sure.Why don't you go ahead.I have to ask my Mom first and i'll follow." Yesung said.I nodded my head but somewhat disappointed in him.

I walked all the way to the top of the hill,like always,it gives me a certain calmness,a certain happiness and hope.Before I reached the top,Yesung was already at my back.I looked back at him.I really missed him a lot.He has grown now.Somehow for the first time,I realized that my friend is now a grown man now.I wonder if he has also realized that now,so as the  distance between us His sight still give me this happy tingly feeling,as I smiled to myself...

We were silent for a while.There are so many things i want to tell him,and so many stories to tell,some funny and hilarious and some sad and embarassing.But somehow,today the words seems so out of reach.Today I felt like we cannot tell and share a silly story anymore,we cannot laughed at ourselves now.There is this distance that I can't seem to fill the gap.Somehow I can feel that my best friend is going farther away from me  than I want to.We sat there looking at the view,staring at the horizons of our young and foolish dreams. The cottage house with the white picket fences is still there. It has withstand the weathers and the storms and the changes of our place but somehow our dreams has not. Whether we like it or not,we have to grow up.In as much as we want to cling to our childhood dreams ,we can't.We know it in our heart that things don't happen that way.That things is not as easy as it seems..There is more to this than just growing up and going to school,and having friends,and having the people that you love around you.They say there is nothing permanent in this world,and yet we want to cling to some familiar things and people in our life and hope that they will never change....And yes I realized now that change is inevtable to all of us.

"I miss you this summer.And although,we never spent it most of the time together,this summer will have a lot of my memories with you." Yesung said.

I looked at him,and as he looked at me...I nodded my head."Me too,you were always on my thoughts." I said.

"My Mom said that we cannot be doing things like we used to do anymore .She said we are all grown up now,and that you are a proper lady now and I am now a grown man.I won't be able to hang out with you,in as much as I want to. Is that alright with you?" he asked."I am not to hug you too or touch you anymore.That is one thing I don't understand.Mom said to respect the girls."

I never understood what he is talking about but I just nodded my head in agreement."I do understand." I said.

"But you will always be my best friend ever.We may not hang out anymore  but you will still be my best friend,in my heart."Yesung said.

Somehow today,the hills looked so different,although nothing has really changed,the river,the mountains,the boulder and the cottage house are still there but forever for me ,it has changed....and there is nothing that I can do to take it back the way it used to be.I won't be able to have that cottage house anymore nor the picket fences.I will never have Yesung as my husband and as the father of my children,liked I dream it will be.Chastity,Saviya ,Francis and Christopher will never be a reality....all of them will be just as always a childhood dream for me....

Me and Yesung sat on the grassy ground ,at the top of the hill,looking at each other,trying to understand the changes that has been unfolding before our very eyes.....