Just one more day and Selena is back! Yay! She is actually three weeks late because there were some issues with the plane schedules in Tokyo. I can’t wait to see her again! She’s been away for a month and a week! At least we talked a lot on the phone. After sending her a smiley face for the good news that she is finally coming back, I catch up with Raf, who went a bit ahead.

“Any good news?” he asks hopefully.

“Yes! She leaves today and she’ll be back tomorrow!” I say happily.

Rafael smiles happy as well and we continue walking and joking. We are trying to find a classroom. Ms Smith made us look for one of her maps. She needs it for the lesson.

“Think we’ll find it by tomorrow?” Raf asks amused.

“Nah! Maybe next year!” I say.

“Hey! Isn’t that…” Raf says suddenly.

“Yes! We found it!” I say happy and we enter the abandoned classroom, turned storage room.

It is a little bit dusty in here and there are lots of boxes stacked next to the wall where the blackboard would have been.

“Wow, so this is where every teacher puts their stuff.” I say while thinking of another joke.

But then, I see Raf’s face. He looks sad, his gaze seems to be in another place. Slowly, he walks towards the middle of the room.

“It looks almost identical…” he says with a cracked voice. “Even the same furniture…”

“What do you mean?” I ask confused.

Still not looking at me, Raf continues.

“It looks identical to my old classroom… I’m sorry, it’s just that… It reminds me of everything. All the memories, the people, my home… Everything I had to leave behind…”

I come closer to him as tears appear in his eyes.

“I am happy here, but I miss my old home so much! It’s just not fair! Why did I have to leave?! Why couldn’t I just live there?!”

I grab his hand and he embraces me while crying. I hug him back.

“I’ve tried to pretend like I wasn’t affected, but I just want to go back home! Here everything is so hard and confusing. I’m scared and alone!”

“You are not alone.” I say and he looks at me.

I brush away one of his tears.

“Yes, it may be hard to have so much change all of a sudden. I know how it feels. It is horrible, but it makes us stronger. While now everything may seem bleak, later you’ll realise that not all the changes are bad. Sometimes, in order to grow as people, we need such change in our lives. And Raf, I know that you’re scared, but if you give this new life a chance, you might find out that you like it. And I’ll always be here for you when you need help!”

“Thank you, Noah!” Raf says and he hugs me tighter.

“Don’t mention it. And hey, next time, please tell me when you have a problem. I…” I start to blush. “I hate to see you hurt.”

Raf looks at me and blushes as well. We look into each other’s eyes for a bit, then I snap back to reality.

“Ok, we should go to the bathroom. Washing my face always helps after I cry. I’ll carry the map for you.”

So, we do just that, but, when we are outside the classroom, I can see Raf smile, a genuine, peaceful and happy smile. I’m happy that I was able to help, but I wonder… Why can’t I follow my own advice?