ALWAYS YOU

The first time Rory Hart met Noah Brooks, she accidentally hit him in the face with a bright red rubber ball. "Ouch!" The boy stumbled backward, dropping the comic book he had been reading beneath the old oak tree. Rory froze. "Oh no..." She sprinted across the grass as fast as her little legs could carry her. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't aiming at you!" Noah rubbed his forehead dramatically. "I think you broke my brain." Her eyes widened. "I did?" He looked at her frightened expression for a second before laughing. "I'm joking." Rory folded her arms. "You're mean." "And you throw like a baseball champion." "I was trying to hit the tree." "You missed." "I know." "You missed by... about ten meters." She sighed. "I know!" The two children looked at each other. Then they laughed together. Neither of them realized that this tiny, ordinary moment would become the beginning of a friendship that would change both of their lives forever. Willow Creek was the kind of town people never wanted to leave. It wasn't famous. It wasn't busy. There were no tall buildings or crowded streets. Instead, there were quiet neighborhoods lined with maple trees, bicycles leaning against white picket fences, flower gardens blooming in every yard, and neighbors who greeted each other by name. In the middle of town stood Willow Creek Park. Children spent every afternoon there. Families gathered for picnics every weekend. Dogs chased squirrels while birds sang from the branches overhead. But the most beautiful part of the park was an enormous oak tree. It was older than anyone in town could remember. Its branches stretched wide enough to provide shade for dozens of people. Many believed the tree had watched over generations of children growing up beneath it. To Rory and Noah... It simply became their favorite place. Their friendship grew almost effortlessly. Every afternoon after school, Rory would rush home, throw her backpack onto the living room floor and shout, "Mum! I'm going outside!" "Homework first!" her mother would call. "I'll do it later!" "You said that yesterday!" "And I still did it!" Her mother only laughed. "Be home before dinner." "I will!" She never walked to the park. She ran. Because Noah was always waiting. Sometimes he would already be climbing the oak tree. Sometimes he was reading comics beneath its shade. Other times he would be drawing maps for imaginary treasure hunts. "What are we doing today?" Rory would ask. Noah would grin. "I have three ideas." "Only three?" "I had four." "What happened to the fourth one?" "It involved jumping into the creek." "...Mum said no." "Mine too." "That's unfortunate." "So... treasure hunt?" "Treasure hunt." Weeks became months. Months became years. The two children became inseparable. They raced bicycles through the neighborhood. Built treehouses that leaned dangerously to one side. Collected colorful autumn leaves. Made snowmen every winter. Shared birthday cakes. Argued over board games. Watched cartoons together every Saturday morning. Whenever Rory lost a game, she accused Noah of cheating. "I won fair and square." "You absolutely cheated." "I didn't." "You blinked suspiciously." "You can't cheat by blinking." "Says who?" Noah sighed dramatically. "You make up rules whenever you're losing." "And yet..." Rory smiled proudly. "...it still works." One afternoon they decided to climb the old oak tree. "I bet I can reach the highest branch," Noah said. "No way." "Five cookies say I can." "Deal." Rory started climbing immediately. She wasn't as fast as Noah, but she refused to give up. Halfway up... Her foot slipped. "Rory!" Before she could fall, Noah grabbed her wrist. "You okay?" She nodded, breathing hard. "I've got you." Slowly he helped her climb back onto the branch. They sat there silently for a while. Then Rory smiled. "Thanks." "You would've done the same." "I would've tried." "No." He smiled. "You would've." That evening, their parents found them sitting on the highest branch together. "There they are!" Mrs. Hart laughed. "We've been looking everywhere." Mr. Brooks folded his arms. "You two know climbing that high isn't safe." "We were careful," Noah replied. Rory quickly nodded. "Very careful." Mrs. Hart looked at the branch swaying beneath them. "I'm not convinced." Everyone laughed. Their families often joked that Rory and Noah spent more time together than apart. Birthday parties were shared. Christmas dinners were celebrated together. Family vacations often became neighborhood vacations because both families insisted on inviting each other. Some neighbors even teased them. "There's the twins again!" "We're not twins!" Rory would protest. "No," Noah added. "She just copies me." "I do not!" "You absolutely do." "I copy greatness." "You admit I'm great?" "...Don't push it." One warm afternoon during the last week of summer, just before their eighth birthday, Noah came running toward the park carrying something behind his back. "Rory!" She looked up from the swing. "What happened?" "I found treasure." "You say that every week." "This time I actually did." He revealed an old metal lunchbox covered in scratches and rust. "It was in Grandpa's garage." Rory tilted her head. "It looks ancient." "Exactly!" "It looks broken." "It looks mysterious." "It smells funny." "It smells historic." She laughed. "What are we supposed to do with it?" Noah sat beneath the oak tree, thinking carefully. Then his eyes lit up. "A time capsule." "A what?" "We fill it with important things." "And then?" "We bury it." "And after that?" "When we're eighteen..." He smiled. "...we come back and open it." Rory's eyes sparkled. "That's the coolest idea you've ever had." "I know." "I'm shocked." "So am I." The two children searched their backpacks for things that mattered most. Rory carefully unfolded a drawing she had spent hours making. It showed the two of them sitting beneath the oak tree. Above them she had written in colorful crayons: Best Friends Forever. "I'm putting this inside." Noah smiled. "I like it." "You do?" "Even though you made my ears too big." "They really are that big." "They are not." "They are." Noah reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny blue marble. "My lucky marble." "The one Grandpa gave you?" He nodded. "I've had it since I was five." "You sure?" "If we're making memories..." He smiled. "...it belongs here." Rory untied the colorful friendship bracelet she had woven herself. "It broke yesterday." "But I still love it." "It belongs here too." Then Noah quietly pulled out a folded piece of paper. "What are you writing?" "A promise." "Can I read it?" "No." "Please?" "You'll read it when we're eighteen." "That's ten whole years!" "Worth the wait." Rory smiled. "Then I'll write one too." Neither of them peeked. Neither of them cheated. When they finished, both folded their letters and placed them gently inside the lunchbox. Using a small shovel Noah had borrowed from home, they dug a hole beneath the great oak tree. The evening sunlight filtered through the leaves, painting the ground gold. Birds sang softly overhead. Together they lowered the lunchbox into the earth. Before covering it, Noah held out his little finger. "Pinky promise?" Rory wrapped hers around it. "No matter what happens..." "We'll come back." "Together." "When we're eighteen." "And open it." "Deal?" "Deal." The dirt slowly covered the metal box until it disappeared beneath the ground. Only the oak tree remained, silently guarding their secret. As they walked home, Rory suddenly stopped. "Noah?" "Hm?" "Do you think we'll still be best friends when we're eighteen?" He answered without hesitation. "Always." "What if we move away?" "I'll find you." "What if we go to different schools?" "We'll still talk." "What if we make new friends?" "They'll just have to share." She smiled. "And..." Her voice became softer. "What if one of us forgets?" Noah looked at her with the kind of certainty only a child could have. "I could never forget you, Rory." She smiled brighter than the setting sun. "I'll never forget you either." High above them, the old oak tree swayed gently in the summer breeze. Hidden beneath its roots was a small rusty lunchbox filled with childhood treasures, handwritten promises, and dreams too innocent to understand. Neither of them knew that growing up would test every promise they had made that evening. But some promises were stronger than time. And some hearts... were always meant to find their way back to each other.