Chapter 1
Chapter 1 — The Last Five
The final day of college arrived sooner than any of them had expected.
For years, the five friends had imagined what this day would feel like. They had talked about it many times, usually as a joke, never believing it would actually come.
Now it was here.
Ben stood beneath the old tree behind the college building, looking at the four people who had been beside him through almost every important moment of his life.
Sophie stood a few feet away, looking unusually quiet. Naphtali was trying to make everyone laugh as usual, while Mike sat on the low wall nearby, staring at his phone. Pheodra stood beside Sophie, listening more than she spoke.
They had been together since childhood.
To everyone else, they were simply five friends.
To themselves, they were something more.
They were known as The Best Five.
They had grown up together, studied together, celebrated birthdays together, argued over the smallest things, and stayed beside one another whenever life became difficult.
But that day was different.
They were about to leave.
University was waiting for them, and each of them would soon be following a different road.
Ben looked around at his friends.
“So this is really happening,” he said.
Mike looked up from his phone.
“Looks like it.”
Naphtali laughed.
“Don’t act like we’re dying. We’re just going to different universities.”
“Easy for you to say,” Sophie replied. “You might disappear the moment you leave.”
Naphtali placed a hand over his chest.
“Me? Never.”
Everyone laughed.
For a moment, the sadness disappeared.
Then Sophie became quiet again.
“Guys,” she said.
They all looked at her.
“I want us to make a promise.”
Ben raised an eyebrow.
“What kind of promise?”
Sophie looked toward the old tree.
“Ten years from now, we come back here.”
Mike laughed.
“Ten years?”
“Yes.”
“You really think we’ll remember?”
“I know we will.”
Ben looked at the others.
Ten years sounded like a lifetime.
But there was something about the way Sophie said it that made him take her seriously.
He nodded.
“Okay.”
Sophie smiled.
“Really?”
“Really.”
Naphtali sighed.
“Fine. I’m in.”
Mike shook his head, smiling.
“I’m in too.”
Pheodra nodded.
“Me too.”
Sophie held out her hand.
One after another, they placed their hands together.
Five friends.
One promise.
Ten years.
“Deal?” Sophie asked.
“Deal,” Ben said.
The others repeated it.
None of them knew how difficult that promise would become.
Later that evening, they said their goodbyes.
There were hugs, laughter, photographs, and promises to stay in touch.
Ben hugged Mike and Naphtali before turning to Pheodra.
“Don’t forget us,” he joked.
Pheodra smiled.
“As if I could.”
Then Sophie walked toward him.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
“You better come back,” she said.
Ben smiled.
“I will.”
She nodded.
“Ten years.”
“Ten years.”
They hugged.
When Ben finally stepped away, he looked at the four of them one last time.
He felt something strange in his chest.
It wasn’t sadness exactly.
It was the feeling that something important was ending.
He didn’t know that his instincts were right.
They were not just leaving college.
They were leaving behind the childhood they had shared.
The years that followed changed everything.
At first, the five friends stayed close.
They called each other.
They sent messages.
They shared stories about university life.
They talked about their dreams and the people they wanted to become.
But slowly, life became more complicated.
Assignments became careers.
Careers became responsibilities.
Responsibilities became new relationships, new homes, new problems, and new priorities.
The calls became less frequent.
The messages became shorter.
And without realizing it, the five friends began walking down different roads.
Ben was the first to understand how quickly life could change.
He finished university and built a successful career. His world became filled with work, ambition, and responsibilities. Eventually, he met Grace, and his life began taking another unexpected turn.
Sophie entered a world of wealth and ambition.
Naphtali discovered his talent for technology and began building something much bigger than anyone had imagined.
Mike turned his computer skills into a career involving cybersecurity and dangerous digital threats.
And Pheodra returned to her homeland, where a completely different destiny awaited her.
Five friends.
Five different lives.
One forgotten promise.
Then the tenth year arrived.
And the reunion never happened.
Ten years became fifteen.
Fifteen became twenty.
By then, they were no longer the same people who had stood beneath the old tree.
But the promise they had made as children had not disappeared completely.
It was only waiting.
Waiting for the day the five of them would finally meet again.
And when that day came, they would discover that some things from the past were never meant to stay forgotten.
