We met in middle school at the “fun” age of 14. Brayden’s protective nature kept us close friends into high school and even closer upon graduation but my stubborn nature refused a date with him, which I later deemed as the biggest mistake of my life. As we grew older and made less than perfect decisions our paths split ways, we grew apart and moved on with our lives, separately. Our paths still crossed occasionally, which came with smiles and hugs (and reminder of regret on my part). Years down the road, as both of our lives had taken unexpected turns, we reunited and reconnected through conversations entailing the events of our years apart and our bond only grew stronger, as it does today. I spent years missing him, praying for our paths to cross again under better circumstances. How lucky are we to have a second chance?