When she was seven years old, he gave her a white stone polished by his own hands and said, "Whenever you are scared, hold on to it. It will not break, and neither will you."
When they reunited nine years later, his eyes were frozen and he pretended not to recognize her.
She learned to hide in a corner and pinch herself, using pain instead of crying.
He learned silence, fists, and hiding the red string in his sleeves.
They are no longer what they were when they were children.
But the double-knot on the shoelaces, the faded bracelet, the stone against the collarbone—
They all say: I still remember you.
Purpose: youthful growth