All Men Are Not The Same

Prologue: A New Best Friend

That calm afternoon, a few minutes before sunset, he was walking down the alley leading to his house with his best friend by his side. His new best friend.

As the last rays of the sun were shining their brightest, he placed his hand on his forehead, sheltering his eyes, tired after their long walk. The heavy breathing to his right made him realize that his best friend must also be as exhausted as he was, or even more.

"Let's just stop here for a minute to watch sunset!" he exclaimed as they were nearing a vast garden of wild flowers which stretched further than the eyes could see. The next second, they were seated on an old wooden bench facing the horizon, waiting for the sun to set. That would probably be within a few seconds.

Taking a glance at his friend who had been silent for quite long, he saw her staring blankly at the horizon, as if, waiting for some miracle to happen or for something she has never seen before. Her dark almond-shaped eyes on her round delicate face, her long wavy hair, her slightly tanned skin, all reminded him of someone. His best friend. His past best friend.

The striking resemblance made his heart shiver. Will you leave me as well? His silent thoughts lingered over his mind, never turning into words.

The two new besties remained seated for a few more minutes after the sun dived into the horizon and disappeared, leaving behind an orange tint to a purple sky. They stayed idle, plunged in complete silence except for the occasional chirping of birds.

With silence came memories. Although he tried to chase them away, memories of his past best friend were still suffocating his days and nights. He had not yet accepted that she left him. She left when he most needed her. She left and went away to a place from which nobody ever returns. And that was barely one month ago.

He cried every single day after she disappeared. He spent sleepless nights, refused to eat and felt betrayed. Betrayed because she never let him have the slightest hint that she was suffering deep inside. That she was about to die.

He felt like life has stopped. He was like a soul sinking into the ocean, unable to breathe, but then, a hand stretched towards him to pull him up, saving him from drowning into that ocean of heartbreaking emotions.

A hand he recognized.

A hand whose touch was undoubtedly familiar.

A hand which held him countless times before.

The same hand that always helped him stand up each time he fell down.

It was that of his mother - his new best friend.

In his mother, he found a new best friend.