In 2010, my best friend left me and moved to a new city. We were in 9th grade, and her parents were going through a divorce, so they decided to live in separate homes.
I remember talking to her one morning about how her family was doing, just a normal conversation. Then, the bell rang, and we all went to our classes. About half an hour later, the teacher heard a knock on the door, and I heard some whispers outside. I was called out of class and went to the hallway. My best friend was standing there with tears in her eyes, telling me she was leaving and moving away. I was so shocked, and I asked her when she was leaving. She said, “Right now.”
She left school immediately, and the next day, she moved to her new city. I was devastated and went back to class crying. It was so embarrassing.
Our friendship started to fade. She made new friends in her new school, and I made mine. I still considered her my best friend, but being so far apart made it hard to stay close. Eventually, we lost touch.
In January this year, I found myself thinking about her a lot. We hadn’t talked in years, and she didn’t have Facebook. I decided to search for her mom’s name and, luckily, found her. I messaged her, and she was really happy to hear from me. She gave me my friend’s number, and I texted her right away. We spent hours catching up, and now she calls almost every day. It’s amazing to have my friend back!
But then, the calls stopped for two weeks. I didn’t want to bother her, but I sent a text asking if everything was okay.
That’s when I got the heartbreaking news: “My mother was found dead in her bed.” She was only 49 and passed away from a heart attack.
Thankfully, we’ve been able to reconnect, and we still laugh at the same things we did when we were younger.
I recently sent her an old picture and said, “Do you remember this? We were 16!”
The photo is pretty damaged now since I’ve moved three times since then, but it’s still priceless to me.