Friendship. It's a complicated concept. I myself have made and lost friends many times. I knew a girl with a soft round face and sparkling chocolate eyes. We lived right by each other and saw each other every day. After a few years though, I had to move away. I hardly ever see her now. Just about a year ago, I got a letter from someone named Lillie. It was written as if we'd known each other our whole lives. I honestly had no idea who she was. I thought to myself How could I have forgotten someone who calls me a friend so easily? Will all of my current friends forget me one day? We create relationships and we break relationships. We meet someone in public and talk to them for a few minutes, then we never see them again. We worry that the people who we surround ourselves with don't actually care for us. Sometimes they really don't. We love the people that do, though. And we would sacrifice everything for those we love. Affection is fire and ice at the same time. It freezes and burns, but it never stops. And that is what's so important. No matter what comes in it's way, our love for each other will never stop.

This story is about romance, loss, adventure, and even a little magic. But first and foremost, it's a story about friendship.

Benjamin Conner was in his dorm room studying for finals. If he did well he would be able to leave college with a doctorate degree and pursue his dream of becoming an archeologist and studying ancient civilizations. Ben, as his very few friends called him, was turning twenty-five today. While most people his age would be out celebrating, he himself did not like the attention. So that was why he was hiding away in his room, waiting as the hours went by.

Around nine, there came a knock on his door. Sighing, he rose to answer it. There would be no escaping this now. As the door swung open it revealed two young women with a cake, balloons, and a few bottles of alcohol. "Happy birthday Benny!" the one on the right cried. She was tall and slender with golden hair and sparkling green eyes. "Jeez this place is a mess. Do you ever do any cleaning?" Ben turned to the other girl. She was short and well-built with icy unforgiving eyes and short-cut raven hair that framed her round face. Ben smiled. "Hey guys. I guess you're going to force me to celebrate my own birthday huh?"

The blonde girl's name was Gwen. She was just a year older than Ben and had never spent a single day of her life in college. When she was eighteen she struck a deal with a fashion magazine company, and now her career as a clothing model was in full swing. She was a bit over-dramatic and had problems both with alcohol and paying attention to people, but when it came to either her job or her friends, she wouldn't let anything get in her way.

The other woman was Candi. Short for Candace, on the outside she seemed like the exact opposite of her nickname. But once you get to know her, you realize she's a very kind person. At twenty-seven she was the oldest of her friends, but looked the youngest. Candi had already finished college and was on the career path of a visual artist. She'd known Ben and Gwen for most of her life.

"Oh come on Ben! It's your special day! I can't believe you've been studying." Gwen sat on her friend's desk and opened up a bottle of wine. "Not that I agree with her drinking, but Gwen is right. You really should put the books away for a while."

Benjamin cleared off a place in his kitchen so the girls would have a proper place to talk. "I told you two that I don't like making a big deal out of it. Woo! I'm older! How amazing!" He voiced his thoughts while dripping heavy sarcasm. "Dude! Come on! You're turning twenty-five! Quarter of a century! It's at least a little deal." Gwen got up and walked across the room to get the cake. "Yeah Ben. We even got dessert!" Ben sighed, admitting defeat. "Okay, just open another bottle of wine."

Time flew by as the three companions conversed about their lives. How they were doing, the newest episodes of their favorite television shows, and other trivial things. That's when Gwen said something that reminded Ben of a recent trip he had taken to study an archeological dig site. He had been in a pit a few stories deep when he found three strange rings. One was a natural soil brown, with three forest green jewels on top. The second was icy blue, the color of Candi's eyes, with little vine designs made of gold. The third was silver, with a purple gem set in the middle. Without even thinking, he stuck the bands in the pocket of his jacket and left with them.

"Oh hey! I just remembered that I have something for you two!" Ben got up and ran to the closet by the door, grabbing his coat and removing the rings from the pocket. "Whoa, those are really cool Benny! Where did you get them?" To Gwen, Ben handed the forest-like one. He gave Candi the ring that matched her eyes. "I found them." He replied. Then he took out the third, which he had decided to keep for himself.

"I thought that they could be like, friendship rings or something." Gwen put her's in her pocket. Candi tossed her's into the air and caught it. "You found them? Doesn't that mean like, you stole them?" She smirked at him. "No! I didn't exactly take them from anyone. And they didn't look that valuable anyway." Gwen took her gift back out and inspected it. "I dunno, these crystals on mine could be emeralds. I'm no expert, but those cost quite a bit of money, don't they?" Ben continued arguing the point until his friends just decided to drop the subject.

They continued their conversations for about another hour before Gwen mentioned the time and said they should all be going home. They voiced their goodbyes and left.

After cleaning up his kitchen, Ben sat back down at his desk again. He tried to continue his studying, but fatigue had sneaked up on him. He took a hot shower, brushed his teeth, changed his clothes, and got into bed. He tossed and turned, but just couldn't let sleep take hold. After a few minutes, he got up again and started pacing around his room. His eyes glanced to his ring, which was sitting on a shelf inside of his open cabinet.

Not really thinking, he walked over to the shelf and picked up the ring. He felt it between his fingers. It almost seemed to vibrate under his touch. He was sure that there was something special about it. That's when he felt it. A faint voice, speaking in his mind. It didn't scare him. Somehow, it felt familiar. Ben took the ring, and slipped it onto his finger.

Gwen was driving home in the rain. It hadn't been so bad at first, but now it was like someone was pouring an ocean on her car. The windshield wipers couldn't keep up so she had to pull over onto the side of the road. While waiting for the weather to clear up, she started to get a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She didn't know why. This part of the city was relatively safe, and she didn't think that anyone would try to attack her while it was raining so hard. She nervously put her hands in her pockets. Wait a second, what's that? She took the ring out and held it in the palm of her hand. Does it even really fit on my finger? Well, I guess I better try it on.

By the time Candi got home, she was soaking wet. She stood in her living room and shook the water off of her jacket. She heard the ring fall out of the coat and looked just in time to see it rolling towards the heating vent in the floor. "No!" She reached down and picked up the band before she could lose it forever. It will be much safer on my finger...