Thursday, January 6, 2011

Guest blog #8 - She Was My Friend - A Chronicle of Dreams


Rek's blog's only a couple of months old but it's already receiving a lot of interest. I found this post very touching. Thanks to everyone who has submitted material for Guest Blog Week. Ideally I'd like a couple more to round it off. Send to maccaz17@hotmail.com


Tears roll down her cheeks as she checks the obituaries...sure enough that smiling face she can never forget staring back at her, sadly accusing,"you never visited". Proof in her hand of the grim reaper and his sadistic taste for young lives...


The breakfast turns cold, untouched as was dinner the previous night. Her mind taking her to a nostalgic journey more than a decade old. She had just graduated when they met for the first time as interns at their auditing firm.

She liked her on sight...Nita as she softly remembered.. Nita was different : ambitious, intelligent with no qualms in flaunting it, a dreamer, eccentric even. Maybe that was the reason for the contempt that the other girls held for her. It was part jealousy and part groupism - the odd ones always ignored or mocked.

Nita spoke of her family, her work, her dreams, her fears...she was just a sweet girl trying to make a mark on the world but when have narrow minds seen a person for what they truly are?

Audits with her were never boring, intelligent conversation, work, fun, sharing filled the days. Nita was a reflection for all that she stood for and may be that's why they got along so well. When others in the office would ask how she could bear to be seen as friendly with the "weirdo", she simply smiled and replied "Birds of a feather flock together".

As time went by, as it has for aeons, she moved to other projects, other jobs...they still kept in touch, met occasionally but not as before. Life went on, job, marriage, problems, responsibilities but she still thought of her . They met a few times more, at her marriage as Nita's parents was friends with her in-laws (small world, she had thought back then) and a couple of family functions....and then for quite some years they lost touch completely...

She looked at the damp paper, thinking of the bear hug and the huge infectious grin with which Nita greeted her(the surprise element at her wedding) and between guilt ridden sobs wished she had reached out to her when Nita had been on dialysis (she had never known, the secret kept till her last days), when Nita had got her promotions and had few genuine friends to celebrate it with, when a speeding car knocked her dead as she crossed the highway to her office a week after her 31St birthday.

.......Its been five years since Nita moved on to a painless, hopefully better place but the sadness and the ache of regret still lingers as fresh as ever...you see, this story is close to my heart, for Nita was my "weirdo" friend and a small part of me wishes that I had, had a chance to say my goodbyes.....

(Real names changed to protect those left behind and respect the ones who have moved on.)

http://achronicleofdreams.blogspot.com/

6 comments:

  1. You give a deeply personal individuated voice
    to a universal aspect of our humanity.

    Well done.


    Aloha & New Year Wishes from Hawaii

    Comfort Spiral

    ><}}(°>


    <°)}}><

    ReplyDelete
  2. very touching sharings. often some important friends crossed our paths but we took them for granted resulting in regrets. Hope we can do better by appreciating those who are still around us. Tomorrow is never the excuse to make. thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It just happens doesn't it? We don't mean it to happen, but it does. We just don't 'keep in touch' we just don't make that call. Not all the time.

    It's sad. This story really brings that home.

    ReplyDelete
  4. DMac - wonderful selection.

    Rek - Beautifully written and emotionally resonant. Thank you for sharing ...

    PMT
    http://thisthattheotherone.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks David for posting it....and I so loved the picture.... :)
    Thanks Claudia, Gabriel, Marnie, Deborah (I always loved this name) and Taylor for your nice words...will peep into your worlds soon enough...
    I needed to let go and needed her to know she isn't forgotten... :)

    ReplyDelete

On Blog PTSD

Now then. What the heck. It seems I had forgotten about my blog completely rather than just neglecting it this time. To return after so long...