Forgotten Friends

Once her friend, this unrecognizable girl knew her every secret, her every wish, her every dream. She could be dangerous if she chose to be. If not, she would be gone again, just another lost ally whose name would stain her heart. 1

“Hey!” the girls greeted one another with false enthusiasm. Gone, she wanted so badly to evaporate into nothingness, to be one with the dirt beneath her flip flop-clad feet. Instead, she pulled at her rust-colored ponytail, twirling it around her finger, slowly, calmly, hoping the continuous, dependable motion would calm her nerves. It didn’t. 2

3

“Wow! I can’t believe I ran into you here!” Cindy enthused, almost hysterical with uneasiness and a familiar gut-wrenching feeling she recognized as guilt. Standing before her old friend, she was acutely aware of her new hair, her new clothes she’d hoped would shape her into a new person. Now she realized that her efforts had been in vain because this girl knew her, saw right through her superficial disguise. Pulling a hand self consciously through her spiky black hair, she took a deep, deliberate breath before asking, “How’ve you been?”4

“Alright, I guess,” the familiar stranger replied with a tight-lipped smile, adding, “Know what college you’re going to?”5

“Um. Not really,” Cindy mumbled, remembering how close she and this now foreign being had once been. Birthday parties, boys, Barbies, funerals, weddings, loves, hates, and now…. nothing. 6


Regret, both girls hoped as they went their separate ways, would ebb away over time. 7