Friends are the family that we get to choose. Blessed are those who have a best friend for life. A best friend is nothing less than a precious gem. And I am lucky to have such a person in my life. My best friend’s name is Deepa and I met her in school. My family used to live in Lucknow. But then a few years ago my father got transferred and we came to the town of Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. Everything was new here. The neighborhood, the market, and even the school. I was not liking it here much. At this new school, nobody knew me. As I was shy, I had difficulty making friends and felt lonely all the time. During the lunch breaks, I used to have lunch all by myself. Although the teachers were nice to me, I still missed my old school. One day, when I was sitting in my seat, a girl came to me and introduced herself. She was Deepa. She smiled at me and asked if I wanted to have the lunch with her. That day, we spent a great time together. We told each other about ourselves, our families, likings, and dislikings. Slowly, we became best friends. I liked her nature. She was soft-spoken and always had a smile on her face. The school was close to my home but Deepa used to come to school by cycle. So, when the school would be over, we would often walk together till we reached my home. From there, we would say goodbye to each other and she would start riding the cycle to her home. A few weeks passed by. The weather was changing and I had a high fever. It was a viral infection, so I needed a bed-rest all the time. I had to miss the classes. I was also worried about the coming exams, wondering how I would cover the unattended chapters. To my surprise, Deepa came to visit me as she already knew my address. She was worried about my health but she consoled me and asked me not to panic about the studies. Next day, when she came to my house, there were plenty of photocopied notes with her. It was all for me so that I could study easily.