When the Sun Finds You

( Mia---Age 14) That summer before high school smelled like sunscreen, peach soda, and the river--- everything bright and uncomplicated. Back then, life was small in a good way. Days stretched forever. Nights felt like secrets. And Luca Rivera was still my best friend. We were sitting on the rusted metal roof of the old boathouse, our legs dangling over the edge as the sun slipped behind the trees. Fireflies drifted below us, blinking like tiny stars that got lost on their way to the sky. Luca tossed a pebble into the water and grinned like the world belonged to him. "You ever think about the future?" he asked. "Not really," I admitted. "It freaks me out." "Why?" "Because everything changes." He nuged me with his shoulder. "Not everything." And then he looked at me---really looked at me---in a way that made my chest feel too small for my ribs. Like he was saying something without actually saying it. I didn't understand it then, but I felt it. Warm. Bright. Dangerous. "Promise we won't change," I whispered. Luca didn't even hesitate. "Promise." I should've known promises made under summer sunsets aren't real ones. I should've known that growing up means breaking things, even the pieces of your heart you didn't know would c***k. Becausw two years, without warning, Luca Rivera left town. No goodbye. No explanation. Just gone. And the day he disappeared was the day I learned the truth: Some people are the sun in your life---- warm, golden, impossible to forget. But even the sun can burn you if you get too close.