"Brenda, you look fabulous!" Joey beamed at me.

I smiled and rolled my eyes heavenward. Everyone looked great in their convocation gowns.

I looked around for Dante. He was waving at me. Diane stood beside him, smiling. I waved to the both of them and turned to Cassandra, who was fussing over the creases on my gown. I was exasperated and told her so. Cassandra was slightly shorter than I am but that didn't stop her from mothering me.

During the months that followed the conversation between Father and I, I had grown to like Cassandra immensely. In fact, I was quite excited about the coming wedding. I told her that my gown was fine and I wanted to talk to Dante.

She stopped fussing and let me off. I headed towards Dante and examined him closely. He was breathtaking. I still felt a little tug at my heart sometimes when I look at Dante, but if I tried to ignore it, it will go away. Like I said, Dante wasn't exactly a hunk or anything of that sort. He's plain-looking, but I never liked him for his looks anyway. In any case, he looked gorgeous now.

"Dante! Let's take our first shot."

"Okay, just give me a minute. I need to talk to my parents. Oh, you haven't met them, have you? Here, let me introduce you." He dragged me with him towards his parents.

I took a look at them and knew where Dante inherited his looks from. His father was just as tall as he was and stood every bit as proudly as he did. Dante's mother, was a rather beautiful woman. No wonder Diane looked so regal, I thought.

After the introduction, we took our first photo together and had to head for the graduation ceremony.

"Brenda, I will be returning to the States soon."

"When will you be coming back?"

Dante did not answer me. The soil and grass beneath our feet suddenly seemed to hold a greater interest for him. Then, I knew.

"You are not coming back." My shoulders drooped.

Dante looked up from the ground and nodded.

I was sad. Well, that was an understatement. The truth was I had to hide my devastation behind a forced smile. I gave a slight nod and turned my attention to the ground too.

"Will we ever see each other again?"

"Of course. I was just returning to try out a job that my father got for me. A family friend wanted a system analyst in his company and he has decided to give me a chance. If I can't do it, I will be back." Dante promised.

However, I knew that the chances were slim. Besides, I had preparations to do further studies myself. Unless I chose to do my masters in America, it was unlikely that I would be seeing Dante in the next few years. I told him my plans and Dante nodded solemnly.

There was a long silence as we stood quietly, each lost in our thoughts.

"You will keep in contact through emails?"

"You bet. I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth if I don't hear from you within 2 months." I grinned at Dante.

We gazed into each other's eyes and knew that a bond has just been formed. No matter where we are in future, we will live in each other's hearts.

That was the last conversation I had with Dante before I packed for my trip to Australia.

We didn't speak to each other on my father's wedding because it had been the day of his flight. He came for awhile to send his wishes and only stopped long enough to catch my eye. We only smiled at each other and nodded for we had spoken all the necessary words to each other.

As I folded my clothes and placed them into my luggage, I realized that Dante's sweater was still with me. I fingered the material as memories flooded my mind.

I saw myself when I first met Dante, who had been sitting quietly with his small group of friends.

I remembered the exhilaration I felt when I spoke to Dante for the first time. I had been terribly late for my tutorial that morning, but it had been worth it.

I thought of the times we spent walking together, sharing our dreams with each other.

Then, I recalled the bad times Dante went through with me when I left home.

Finally, I remembered that fateful night when he confessed about his homosexuality, the heartache I had suffered, and how Joey explained to me that the friendship between Dante and I was a gift from heaven. Nobody is perfect, but if we learn to accept people despite their faults, we will learn the true meaning of peace and love.

I hugged the sweater to myself and knew that Joey had been right. I have learnt to forgive Dante and to love him with the good side of my heart. I also knew that whenever winter comes in Australia, I would be wearing Dante's sweater. He will always be in my heart for as long as I live.

The End