The summer breeze rustled through the oak leaves as Remy, Holt, and Nico lounged under its familiar boughs. Now 23, they reveled in the nostalgia of their childhood sanctuary.
"We haven't changed much, have we?" Remy grinned, their initials still visible in the bark.
"Except maybe you finally grew taller than 5-foot-nothing," Nico teased.
Holt chuckled. "Remember when we'd pretend this tree was our armor against the 9-headed fire dragon?"
"Vividly!" said Nico. "I was always stuck playing bait while you two tried to 'slay' him."
They all laughed, but a wistful silence settled, each gazing down diverging roads of memory - ones that now threatened to divide them.
Nico would soon ship out for military duty, his sense of purpose found in service but taking him far from home. Holt was abandoning his medical ambitions, drawn instead to teaching despite his parents' disapproval. And Remy still struggled to choose between university art programs, afraid to leave his mother alone after his father's death.
"I wish things could stay simple," Holt sighed, "like when we were 10 and our biggest fight was over superhero names."
Remy gave his hand an understanding squeeze. "Me too. But we'll always come back here to remind us of that bond."
"To recenter ourselves when life gets messy," Nico added.
They lifted their palms together, renewing the oath made here to face fate's crossroads while preserving what truly mattered - brotherhood rooted under a steady oak.
YOU ARE READING
Crossroads
Teen FictionOnce inseparable friends bonded by shared dreams, life pulls Remy, Holt, and Nico in different directions until their crossed paths may never again meet.
