My name is Emma and I'm from a small town in the USA. Today I want to share a story with you.

The story that I will tell you now is about something that has really happened to me. I met a guy -Josh- when I was a little girl. We met at the corner of the street, and it was funny because he started to smile even before I started to speak, and then, we started to play together and he became my best friend. We have lived a lot of things side by side, and he has been the most important person in my life.

Before continuing, I have to tell you that I know you may think that this is a perfect love story, but there is nothing perfect in it.

As I told you before, we met when we were just kids, and a lot of things have happened since that day. For example, I started to feel things about him. When I was a teenager, I started to get jealous of the other girls he liked. In the beginning, I just thought that it was because he was my best friend and those girls would steal MY time with him. But after a while I realized that I actually liked him.

When Josh told me about his job offer, I wanted to go with him. And one part of me was telling me to tell him about my feelings and go with him, but another part was still telling me to avoid it. So I just didn't say anything about it, just that I will always be here for him.

That was the beginning of a new life for the both of us. He was being successful in New York, climbing in his job, with his own house, great car, and a lot of girls chasing him. And me... I was still in the same small town, trying to figure out what to do with my life. But I wasn't alone. Jim was always by my side and I liked that.

Suddenly something unexpected -to me- happened. Jim told me he was in love with me. I guess that I knew it, just that I didn't know what I was feeling. I liked Jim, and I can say that probably I also loved him. But what I felt for him could never be as strong as my love for Josh. 

I didn't know what to do, so I said -in a panic attack- that I loved him too. We were happy together and I thought "why I couldn't be happy?" Josh was happy in New York, and he even had a girlfriend, so why couldn't I try it?

After some months having a formal relationship with Jim, he asked me to marry him, and I said yes.

I knew that I would never be capable of loving him completely, but now Josh seemed to be out of my league. 

I wasn't sure about telling him, I was nervous and there was the possibility that all our relationship, our perfect friendship could come to an end. So I decided not to say anything and hide my feelings.

We wanted to make a life together, as friends. So we planned to move to another city after having finished high school. But everything changed.

Sadly, we followed different ways. Even though we swore to each other to be always friends and be in touch, our different ways presented us different new people. And with all those new people I met Jim. At first, I found him funny, and I really enjoyed to be with him. As time passed by, Jim and I started to get closer, and my relationship with Josh was every time more distant.

Josh had the possibility to move to another city. A great job offer was presented to him, and he wouldn't had being too silly to reject it, so he accepted and moved. By this time we were still used to talk, call and message each other, just that it wasn't as frequent as in the past.

I told Josh about the engagement - we still messaged each other sometimes- and he told me that he was happy for me, but he would not attend to the ceremony. I understood it, he had an important job, and it wasn't like he could go away whenever he wanted to.

Jim and I got married and started to live a whole new life together. It wasn't always easy. As time passed by, I started to miss Josh more every day, and Jim noticed it. Obviously we started to have problems, and finally, he left me. When he left me, I was sad but not for that. I was sad because Josh wasn't there with me. He wasn't there to let me cry on his shoulder and then hug me till I fell asleep.

I had friends and my family, but I just wanted to be with Josh. Unfortunately for me, the next day I received a letter from him. He would get married. I wanted to die.

He was asking me to go to New York and give a speech at the wedding as I was his best friend, and no one knows him as I did. I accepted, knowing that it would be a huge challenge but he was my friend, so I couldn't say no.

I told you before... this was not a perfect love story. But it is a love story.

I arrived to New York with my friend Jane. She knew everything that I was feeling. I told her everything before going and she decided to go with me because I didn't know if I would have the strength to say my fake speech or to tell Josh how much I have loved him for my entire life.

Finally, there I was, in the dinner after the wedding, still thinking what to do. Suddenly I heard "Is Emma's speech time" and someone gave me a microphone. I was frozen. What I really wanted to say was something like "Josh, don't marry her. I have always loved you and I will always do" But my cowardice defeated me once again and I started my fake speech. But when I was finishing, I don't know what happened to me, and I just said "Josh, no matter where you are, I will always be there for you, and I will always love you with all my heart" I could see the faces of everyone there, shocked, looking at me, and his face was like telling me that he felt the same. In less than a second, I said "You will always be my best friend" and the guesses could breathe again. But apparently, Josh knew that it was a lie.