Our Song That Summer

That year, the setting sun stretched the shadows of the old street, and lengthened the distance between our steps as we walked one behind the other. He held up a bag of alluring red-oil spicy strips like an invincible banner. And I, the greedy childhood friend trailing behind him, willingly let him "trick" me into going home for the tantalizing taste of fresh, numbing spice. It took me many years to understand that the road I walked with him wasn't just for a bag of spicy strips. It was the road that led us to everything that came after.