The year is 2013 and our story takes place in a suburban town called Fredericksburg, Virginia. A young lady, her brother, and her parents recently moved into a new house in a safe neighborhood. They settled down here and were excited to be in a home that would likely see them through from the middle of the young lady's sophomore year to the end of her high school career.

One fateful Saturday saw the young lady in attendance at her brother's birthday party. Being three years older, she was not amused by spending time with these children; however, one of the children took a particular liking to her. Little did she know, that this child lived in her safe neighborhood and would lead her to meeting the man of her dreams. She was patient with him, as she thought that she would only have to endure his company for the night of the birthday party. However, that summer found her in contact with the child again. She was sunbathing at the neighborhood pool, when he approached her and asked her and her brother to play basketball with him sometime. After taking him up on his offer, that child set the young lady's life on a course that no one could have expected.

The young lady and her brother followed the child to a house with a basketball hoop in it's driveway. There were two other gentlemen there playing with the child, but these gentlemen weren't children themselves. No, they were the same age as the young lady. Young men if you will. "Hi, I'm Seone," the young lady introduced herself. "Sam?" questioned one of the young men. He had striking blue eyes, a tall and broad build, and glorious brown hair. "Seone," she corrected. "Sam?" the blue eyed young man asked again. "Seone" she said one last time. "Oh, I'm Noah," said the handsome young man.

Their relationship grew as neighbors and friends for a few years after this. The child, the young lady, the brother, the handsome young man, and several other neighborhood kids got together regularly in the summers. They played basketball and soccer, they swam at the pool, ordered pizza, and just enjoyed each others company.

It was now the young lady's junior year in high school, and the homecoming dance was approaching. She devised a scheme with one of her girlfriends that they would both take boys from the neighborhood with them to the dance. The young lady had her eyes set on the blue eyed young man, and got to work making a poster for him with candy asking him to accompany her. The day came, and while all of the neighborhood kids were playing basketball together, the young lady got out her sign. She approached the handsome young man and asked him to join her at her homecoming dance. After a lengthy conversation, the young man said no. He couldn't go to the dance with the young lady because one of his friends, another young man in the neighborhood, had feelings for the young lady, and he wanted to be a good friend. This was a minor inconvenience for a fate that would come to fruition with or without this dance.

A year passed and the handsome young man and the young lady were still friendly with each other as they continued to play amongst all of their neighborhood friends. One fateful Saturday, the neighborhood kids got together to play for what would end up being the last game. They hung out and played basketball as they did regularly; however, this time it ended differently then normal. The blue eyed young man decided to walk the young lady home. An event that had never happened before. The walk turned into a race, one of which the handsome young man lost. For losing, his punishment was to carry the young lady the rest of the way to her house on his back. Once they got there, the young lady and the handsome young man agreed to go to lunch together. The young lady would drive, and the young man would pay.

On this lunch date, they laughed, and talked, and enjoyed each others company. Their friendship made it easy to spend time together; however, there was a lot about each other that they didn't know. After a few weeks of getting to know each other, the blue eyed young man hatched a scheme to ask the young lady to prom. His fellow neighborhood young men helped him to set up candles in front of her house to ask her to accompany him to the dance. A scene that, although very different from the one a year earlier, was vaguely familiar to the young lady asking him to her homecoming dance. Although the difference this time, was that the young lady said yes.

They went to prom together, and spent lots of time getting to know each other from that point on. They formed a wonderful and strong connection that bloomed into a beautiful and honest relationship. A relationship that they will now get to enjoy together until death do they part.

Here's to that young lady and that handsome, blue eyed young man.

Sandals

Sandals Ochi