The white picket fence stood there, still and perfectly, as if proud to be in that position. I ran my fingers over the smooth wood and smiled at the ubiquitous paint chips that covered it. I loved this fence. I would sit below it with my hair blowing in the wind and my feet hidden in the tall grass that hadn't been mowed for what seemed like years. It surrounded a small, wooden cottage overlooking the ocean waves and sunset. It was, in those long, relaxing summers, my only and best friend; it was one that I could tell anything to, lean on, and rely on. I spent all those sunny hours sitting beside it and it comforted me in a way nobody could. There was only one question that I wondered about the rigid white picket fence: what was its purpose? Was it keeping me in or out?

Inside the picket fence was a world of wonders. The wooden cottage had a beautiful view of the ocean waves crashing against the rocks and the sunlight glimmering upon the ever so clear water. The cottage lay in perfect position with a cosy and comforting look. Flower beds surrounded the wooden cottage and blossomed every spring. Animals came around often. My favourite part of the year was when the bluebirds came to visit inside the picket fence and feed on the seeds of the birdhouse. I made that birdhouse with my grandmother a while back. I remember leaning with our backs against the stable wood of the white picket fence and I remember our laughter. My grandmother handed me the pieces of wood one by one and moments after we nailed the birdhouse to the large oak tree, bluebirds flew rapidly to it, and my grandmother and I smiled. We took pictures of the birds and painted and relaxed. We always took pictures to save memories; after all, they are the best moments of life.

Outside the picket fence was beyond what I could ever have imagined. I had never left inside the picket fence, perhaps because I feared it or I felt I wasn't allowed or supposed to. I had heard stories of large cities in the world. All I had ever known was the cottage and the little town near it . I had never met any neighbours or any people. I had stayed with my grandmother inside the white picket fence. After all I was content there and I thought that was all I ever needed. Even still I pictured city lights, cars, planes, people, stores, and a world of possibilities. I pictured friends of many kinds that I yearned for; I always wanted another friend besides the picket fence, one that could reply to me when I talked to them. I wondered what was beyond inside and I wanted out.

After twenty years when my grandmother passed away, I decided to depart and sell the wooden cottage by the ocean. I said goodbye to my dear friend, the picket fence, and left. I was right, there were amazing possibilities outside the fence but there was still a part of me that didn't want to leave my home. I used the money I had made from selling the cottage to go to college. There I met so many amazing people, but I missed something. I terribly missed my old friend, the white picket fence, the best friend that I leaned on, day after day, for twenty years. I took a plane back to the town where the cottage stood and hoped that the new owners wouldn't mind if I visited for a while and leaned by the white fence, my best friend. When I arrived at the cottage however I was devastated to learn that the white fence was no longer standing, it was taken apart, lying hopelessly on the long grass. It looked as though a large tornado had come through though everything else beside the white picket fence looked untouched. I furiously went up to the cottage and knocked on the door. The new owners told me they had torn down the fence because they did not like the look of it. They reluctantly allowed me to stay on the property for a short while just for me to visit. I laid my head down against the smooth wood of the white picket fence as tears gently dripped down my face. My best friend was beside me once more. And then it hit me- this white picket fence was never meant to keep me in or keep me out. It was simply just placed there to become my friend, and my companion. I am ever so happy it was.