This story was inspired by a book also titled One Day. Basically, it's about a man, a woman, and their lives all told from the same day every chapter. Every chapter is a new year on the same day. I chose August 24th for the "one day" of this story, simply for it being a non-holiday and not a birthday. Hope you enjoy.

Age 10

Huey stood atop the hill overlooking the sleepy town of Woodcrest below. It was a typical middle-class, suburban neighborhood filled with white people who carried high hopes and a sensitive sort of blindness to the condition of the world they lived in. The young boy wondered how people could be fine living in their ignorance as they did below him. These thoughts often filled his mind in this place at the top of the hill. From up here, the rest of the world was small. He was the knowledgeable god, and they were his judgmental, petty subjects. Huey did not have a god complex, but he liked to think that if God existed, He thought the same things the mocha-skinned boy did. The wind suddenly stirred, as if God acknowledged the boy's thoughts and agreed with them. The air carried the slight scent of strawberries, and the silence was soon broken by the crunch of dry autumn leaves under tiny shoes.

The afro headed boy turned his attention from the city to his approaching friend. Her cinnamon curls were being tossed wildly in the wind as she pulled her thick pink jacket tighter across her small, thin frame. Emerald eyes glanced up to meet his wine colored ones, and a smile spread like a melting stream of pearls across her mulatto face.

"Hi, Huey," she greeted, breaking the silence.

Huey nodded in greeting, before responding as well. "Hi, Jasmine." She finished her joyous stroll up the hill before plopping down under the shade of the tree, sending a flurry of leaves every which way. The tree itself was beginning to sport a variety of warm colors, which almost seemed to contradict the chilly August breeze that blew through the young kids. Huey watched as Jasmine shivered. "If you're cold, you should go home."

"I don't want to," the mulatto pouted, sticking out her bottom lip for emphasis. "It's the last week before school starts, and I want to hang out with my friends!" She was right; it was August 24th, and school would begin for them soon. Fifth grade held no high prospects in Huey's mind. He decided to humor the girl for now, in hopes of inspiring her to leave sooner rather than later.

"If you want to hang out with people, then go back into town. Go find Cindy or Riley or whoever to play with, if you want a friend."

"But you're my friend, too!" Jasmine pointed out, giggling cheerily.

Huey rolled his eyes. He often wondered about that. Was he really Jasmine's friend? Well, she seemed to think so. She hardly ever left him alone, so between her presence, Granddad's griping, and Riley's shenanigans, he scarcely had a moment of peace. Beyond that, though, Huey wasn't naïve. He knew he was difficult to get along with. Unlike Jasmine, he put no real effort into their friendship. The mulatto was always the one initiating things between them, and half the time, her idea of 'fun' was something he found revolting or annoying. He humored her, partially out of pity in recognizing her loneliness and partially because… well, she was there.

He'd never admit it, but he, deep down, appreciated Jasmine for being there. She was someone to teach, and an ear that listened. She tried her best to be there for him when it mattered, and all she asked in return was that he did the same, and he complied with very little agitation, if any. It didn't matter that most of their time together was spent in silence or in the free time between the pages of his books. Huey supposed that loneliness was the thing that kept her by his side. For now, he'd relish that. Turning to face her, Huey gave her an intense stare. She was looking at the clouds, her demeanor light as a feather, as if she didn't have a care in the world.

"Yeah, I guess," he responded at last.

"Then as friends, we should hang out. Come on. Summer's almost over, then we'll have school and homework and curfews again." Picking herself up, she brushed off the leaves that were stuck to the butt of her fuzzy jacket. "I want to get ice cream."

Huey shook his head. "Isn't it a bit cold for that?"

"Naw, it's only windy. If we go now, though, we can make happy hour at the ice cream parlor in town. Hurry up, Huey!" Jasmine patted his jacket sleeve with two quick taps as she headed down the hill, arms out in a display of upper body support.

For a while, the boy just watched her. The question still seemed unanswered. Was she really his friend? Maybe she was just lonely and he was the only person willing to entertain her naïve fantasies. Or maybe she sensed the loneliness in him and made it her mission to drag him with her everywhere she went out of pity. Maybe they were both just a couple of stupid kids trying to outrun reality. Huey looked up at the sky again and thought about God. He noticed the cloud stream of a plane as it passed over, and realized that from that height, he couldn't even be seen. So maybe, if God existed, it wasn't looking down with disdain at them all. Perhaps they were all just going unseen, and had to chase happiness by themselves.

Shaking his head clear of those thoughts, Huey trotted down the hill after Jasmine, who had a strong gain on him, and was now sprinting for the pathway back to the city. Was she really his friend? Huey often told himself that hope was irrational. Still, he found himself silently hoping in his heart that the answer was yes anyway.

Reviews always welcome. See you next week.