I stared at my suitcase as I tossed one of my dresses in it. They say that saying goodbye is difficult. well it is and for me, it was the hardest thing to do right now. Mum told me that I could say goodbye after I had finished packing. I was only halfway done. I just wanted to be over and done with this. As soon as I was done packing I made the short journey to Stephanie's home. I rang the doorbell and patiently waited for someone to answer the door. A middle-aged woman with blonde hair opened the door.

"Hello", she greeted.

"Hi.. Uh.. I came to see Stephanie", I said.

"Steph! You have a visitor!" The woman called out.

I heard the sound of running feet and soon enough, Stephanie appeared at the front door.

"Kim!" Stephanie said excitedly, hugging me.

"You should come inside", the middle-aged woman told me.

I entered in the room and was glad for the warmth in the room. Stephanie was so excited to see me and sent me upstairs to her bedroom. I didn't want to break the news so soon, but I knew I had two more people to say goodbye to. I let Stephanie chatter as she told me about everything in her bedroom.

"Stephanie", I said, knowing I had to break the news to her.

"Wait. I have to show this to you", Stephanie said, opening some drawers.

"Stephanie. I'm leaving", I told her.

"Oh. I'll really miss you, Kim", Stephanie said.

"So will I but we'll stay in touch. Somehow".

"You can have my parents' number".

Stephanie gave me her parents' number and I saved them on my phone. I gave her one more hug and we went downstairs to the sitting room.

"You're leaving so soon? We were just about to have some lunch", the middle-aged woman, whom I guessed was Stephanie's mom said.

"Thank you but I ate before coming here", I said.

"I hope you don't mind me asking but are you Kim?" Stephanie's mom asked me.

"Yes", I answered, wondering where she was going with this.

"Oh! Stephanie has been talking so much about you! You are the one who helped her overcome her shyness, aren't you? Thanks so much! Stephanie's changed so much!" Stephanie's mom rambled.

I was amazed at how much she could say in one breath.

"Oh, thanks but I really didn't do anything. It was..." I started to say but Stephanie's mom cut me off.

"You're so modest! Thanks, anyway!" Stephanie's mom told me.

I left the room and went outside with Stephanie. We said our last goodbyes and I gave her one last hug before heading towards Daphne's house. Tears fell from my eyelids as I walked. I quickly cleaned them with the edge of my winter jacket. I will really miss that girl but I had to pull myself together. I finally arrived at Daphne's house and rang the doorbell. Just a few seconds later, Hannah opened the door. She screamed and ran back inside. A few minutes later, she appeared at the door again.

"Sorry. I was just so excited", Hannah said.

"It's okay. Is Daphne home?" I asked Hannah.

"Yes", Hannah replied and she led me inside.

I felt so warm as soon as I entered the room. Daphne saw me and was also excited to see me and led me up to her room.

"I have news for you!" Daphne said excitedly.

Even though I wasn't exactly in a good mood, I was genuinely happy for her.

"Tell me!" I said with the same excitement as Daphne.

"So you know that I directed the Christmas play and everything. So after I talked to you and everything, I saw James Young and he said I did a great job and he asked for my phone number and said we would keep in touch", Daphne told me.

We both screamed excitedly. James Young was a top-notch movie director and had directed so many movies that had won many awards.

"And he said he wanted me to help him direct his next movie. He said he wanted to retire soon and wanted a young movie director who could learn from him and he said I would be perfect for the job", Daphne told me.

We screamed together again.

"The next time you hear from me, I'll be in Hollywood", Daphne said and we both laughed.

"I also have news. I'm leaving", I said.

Daphne looked at me, confused but later she understood what I said.

"I will really miss you, Kim" Daphne said in a low tone.

"Same here", I said sadly.

"I knew this day would come but it's so soon! We have to stay in touch", Daphne said.

We exchanged phone numbers, email addresses and usernames on the various social media platforms.

"Good luck on the movie", I told Daphne.

"Thanks", Daphne told me.

We said our last goodbyes, hugged and cried before I left. I walked on and on till I reached Alfie's house. I rang the doorbell and was greeted by a security guard. I had to go through a lot of questioning and security checks before I was finally allowed inside the house. I saw Alfie chatting with some friends of his. He excused himself when he saw me.

"Kim! It's so nice to see you!" Alfie said.

"Nice to see you too, Alfie", I greeted back.

"Come and let's sit", Alfie told me.

He sounded weird. Too formal. Where was he going with this? I followed him and took a seat on some plush chairs on the patio.

"You look cold", Alfie said, looking into my eyes.

"I am", I said.

Alfie gave me some hot chocolate and the hot mug immediately warmed my cold fingers.

"How did you like last night? I have two tickets to see a movie. Do you want to go?" Alfie asked me.

"Alfie, I'm leaving", I said.

"Leaving? Oh, no don't leave. Please stay. I'm sorry if I offended you".

He clearly didn't understand. I shook my head.

"I mean I'm leaving Sweetwater", I explained.

"Oh. I guess this is the last time we'll see each other".

"Yes", I said, glad he understood this.

"But we'll stay in touch, won't we?"

We exchanged phone numbers, email addresses and usernames on social media platforms. We hugged and said our goodbyes and just as I was about to leave, Alfie pulled me back.

"I'll really miss you, Kim and I really mean it", Alfie said with strong emotion in his voice.

Tears were threatening to fall out of my eyes and I tried my best to hold them back. The last thing I wanted to do was to cry in front of Alfie. I didn't realize it but Alfie's lips were drawing closer to mine. I was so concerned with trying not to let my tears fall. It was a short, sweet kiss. A goodbye kiss, I guess. My eyelids fluttered after the kiss. I couldn't believe what had just happened. Alfie squeezed my hand before rushing off without saying a word.

I made my way home as my thoughts wandered off. I thought this was just another Christmas vacation. I didn't know how it could impact my life and the life of others. I had made so many friends and I guess I had become so emotionally attached to them. I wish I could stay here but I knew that was impossible. I finally arrived at home and we finished packing up everything.

At dawn the next day, we hopped in the car and were headed home. As the car drove on, I didn't want to look behind me because I knew it would only bring tears to my eyes. I looked back and waved to the town of Sweetwater, knowing I would miss this place.