He was my neighbor. Although I didn't live in the same neighborhood he did, our vacation home was next to his house. Our backyard was the ocean, and I believed he was lucky to be living along the Pacific Coast. I visited only during the summers while he stayed there all year long, and every year – without fail – we spent hours and hours playing together. That is, until I stopped going. I spent the summers with my grandparents instead, and the house was left alone for five years. Five long years passed. I wondered about him and how he was doing. I guess I could have considered him my best friend back then, but things have changed. We used to talk at least once a week and we'd fill in all of the time spent away from each other by talking on the phone. But then the calls stopped, and my summers were no longer about the beach and the boy with the pink hair. Now my third year in high school is over and all of the memories come flooding back at the start of the season that many people await throughout the entire year, hoping that this summer is more fun than the last.

The scenery from the day before had been amazing, but it would be like holding a candle to a flame compared to the deep blue ocean. The sea seemed infinite as it put me in a trance, the sparkling aqua waves roaring beneath me. The endless amount of liquid sparkled and shone from the reflection of the sun as the waves crashed atop the glittering white sand and dark gray cliffs. The scene left me breathless.

"What do you think would happen if I jumped?"

"I think…you'd get hurt."

"I don't think so. I guess we'll just have to find out, wont we?"

He grinned that broad grin of his that seemed to take up the entire lower half of his face from ear to ear. I'll never forget that grin and his sharp teeth that reminded me of a dragon.

"I don't think you should-"

Before I could even finish my sentence, the boy jumped off of the cliff and into the water, but before he did, he grabbed my hand and I was pulled along with him. It was so sudden that all I could do was gasp.

The water enveloped my entire body in a cold rush that left me clinging to the boy's body for warmth.

We hurried back to the surface. The impact had knocked the wind out of me and left me gasping for air. I opened my eyes and wiped them with my hands. The first thing I noticed when my vision came back was a shock of bright pink.

"You okay?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Come on, let's go. See? We didn't get hurt. Wasn't that fun?"

We swam back to shore and climbed back up the jagged cliff.

We sat down and left our legs dangling off of the edge as we talked. We held hands. It was a natural thing, nothing romantic, just something that we did because we were friends, because we were close…because we enjoyed each other's company.

I noticed the sun begin to set.

It was a giant bright light that was ready to go to bed and wrap itself in the never-ending blanket that is the ocean. When it was bed time for our young star, it was playtime for the big white rock, called the moon.

By the time the beautiful pearl had come up and light up the dark sky, we sat even closer than before. Instead of holding hands, we had our arms around each other. Though it was a fresh night, my entire body felt warm, right down to my toes.

"I'm going to miss you."

"I'll be back next summer, don't worry about it!"

I smiled and looked into his dark, onyx colored eyes. A hopeful, yet unsure smile played on his lips.

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Our pinkies were intertwined in the usual manner when making a promise.

"I can't wait to see you next year."

I broke my promise. Summer came again and I didn't see him. Then it came again. And again. Yet I never forgot about him or the vow we made on that stunning night of the full moon.