“On that ordinary day you suddenly stood up and said ‘Let’s go stargazing tonight…'”

“…Meet me at my house at 9,” Derek sent to the group chat. Even though it was the night before finals week of our senior year I decided I should take a break. We were all so focused on our studies that the chat had been nearly inactive for the past week. When I got there, I saw Derek on his porch waiting for the others to arrive. We caught up with each other as Bryan, Leah, and Jake got there one by one. Once Jake got there, Derek walked us over to Zerades park and took us up the hill on the North side, saying that that was where his dad had used to take him. Once we got to the top, he gestured for us to look up, and we all began to stare. For once the smog of the city didn’t obscure the sights as stars filled the night sky…

“Next to you, who was having fun I, couldn’t say anything…”

…As we all lay in awe of what we were seeing, Derek started the conversation with the story of how the 5 of us first met. From there, many other tales of our years together were brought up, but I had realized what this was. It was the beginning of the end, and from there on we’d see each other less and less. With that in mind, I was put into a bit of a somber mood, and as I gazed into the night sky, I began to cry. There would be no more sneaking out to watch a movie at Leah’s place, no more spending whole days at festivals just waiting for Bryan’s stomach sickness go away, and the times where Jake almost got us into a car crash were finally done for. It was the end of an era and I still hadn’t accepted that it was over…

“May the footprints we leave Overlap once again Until we meet again”

…That was when Derek sat next to me and said that even though we won’t be seeing each other as often, we will still see each other. He also added that even though there weren’t going to be as many new memories, the ones we already had would always be there. It seemed like he had already figured it out and knew what I was thinking. Once the others heard, it looked like they had been hit with the same realization. He was right though, and as long as we treasured the memories of the past and all those of the future, it would be alright. And so the night concluded when Derek declared it was a good time to head back and rest before the troubling week ahead. I think we all left that night ready to move on.