**The page here is littered with sprinkles of water-stains, and the writing seems to illuminate a deep inner peace**

It feels good to be able to help another person, and watch that person laugh when so many marcs ago he was frowning. It feels good to be able to share a special moment - no, hundreds of special moments - with a friend so close to you that you can tell him anything.

And that's what makes me feel so happy as I sit by the fire on the Amazonian Rest and Relaxation Resort, watching Seph sleep with the brim of my hat pulled down over his eyes. Though, of course, it isn't my hat anymore. I decided to give it to him, as a memory of today, and as a memory of the special moments we shared. I told him about the history of the pansy tied to the hat, and he promised me that he would keep it safe.

There was that one scary moment in the water. We were splashing each other, laughing and mocking, when I fell into the stream. It went well, I surfaced and Seph helped me out. Then he grinned and let me go again, and suddenly I was enveloped by the water, and I felt that fear - that fear of before, on that terrible accident. And my fear of water surfaced once more, and I thrashed about helplessly underwater. Seph sensed my change of mood and quickly got me out of there, and I quickly covered it all up with a smile.

And now he sleeps by the fire, and I sit beside him. And I think of our earlier conversation, about how I said things have changed so much since I had first seen them. He didn't think it had, so maybe it's just my own opinion. When I said that people come and go for the good, I didn't actually mean it. They seem to come and go, just to cause you pain. And that pain can only seem to be lifted by days like this.

I'm sure today was just the beginning of a beautiful, beautiful friendship.

Ermin xxx