He had just arrived from the airport with his mother, and they decided to drive through their old neighborhood to visit relatives.
When Lucas stepped out of the car, his eyes scanned the familiar street.
Then he noticed a boy sitting near a small roadside store.
The boy wore faded clothes and old sandals covered in dried mud. He looked thinner than most kids his age, and there was a tired expression on his face that didn’t belong on someone so young.
When their eyes met, Lucas felt his chest tighten.
“…Noah?” he said quietly.
The boy slowly stood up, staring at him in disbelief.
“Lucas?” Noah answered, his voice shaking slightly.
Lucas froze.
This was not the cheerful friend he remembered—the loud boy who was always laughing and running ahead of everyone else.
Now there was a heaviness in Noah’s eyes.
Lucas walked closer, but Noah instinctively stepped back, as if embarrassed.
“Hey, it’s me,” Lucas said gently. “What’s going on with you?”
Then Lucas noticed something else.
Noah’s belt had snapped and was being held together by a thin strip of plastic.
Noah quickly lowered his gaze.
“Sorry,” he murmured. “Things are… different for us now.”