I Call Him Friend

It's the year 1998. I'm six years old and in kindergarten. I meet a boy and we become friends. We eat lunch together. We swing on the swings and slide on the slides together. We play blocks during free time together. We sit together on the bus home from school. We are good friends, and I love this boy.  

It's the year 2001. I'm nine years old and in third grade. I haven't had this boy in my class since our first year of school. We continue to sit next to each other on the bus. He is still my friend, and I still love this boy.

It's the year 2004. I'm twelve years old and in the sixth grade. I don't take the bus home with this boy anymore. He takes a new bus. I notice something different. My friend isn't the same, but I remember, and I still love this boy. 

It's the year 2007. I'm fifteen years old and a freshman in high school. I see this boy in the hallways. He's never alone; a teacher always at his side. He doesn't take the same classes as the rest of us. People laugh and they sneer. It makes me sad to see my friend this way. This boy doesn't remember me anymore, but I remember. He is still my friend, and I still love this boy.

It's the year 2010. I'm seventeen years old and a senior in high school. I see my friend and wonder what his life will be like after graduation. Will he be able to move away, go to college, drive a car, get a job, have a family? Probably not. I smile at my friend in the hallway, and I remember, and I know I will always love this boy.

I think about my friend, and wonder how I never knew. We played together. We talked together. If only I were still as a child; simple, accepting, and loving unconditionally. He was my friend and he was just like me. Following this year, I may never again see this boy, but I will always remember.

I will remember the way my friend seemed to change, the way he was mocked at by my friends, and the way he eventually forgot my name; but he taught me so much more. He taught me to be accepting. He taught me to understand. He taught me to love and to respect; and that is what I will remember. Those around me may call this sweet boy "stupid" and "retard," but I will call him friend, and I will always love this boy.