If you read this and you remember all of this as well, this is to you...
Think back, way back, to a simpler time and place. Where the biggest event on your daily agenda was recess and the best part was whatever adventure you were going to go on that day. The earliest was second grade (possibly first) when you had a best friend. You and him would swing on the swings and would pretend to be Luke and Leah Skywalker, running around fighting Darth Vader and other villains. You two were inseparable, always doing everything together. In third grade you taught him how to ice skate. Although you were much better than him, you held his hand the whole way, never letting him fall. You never let him down. Even on the playground when all the other kids were picking on you guys, you always had his back. You were one of the few who took the time to get to know him and really be friends. Your dad would come to school just to make you sit with the girls because he wanted you to not be such a tomboy, but how could anyone keep you two apart?
Remember when you wanted to show off and you two arm wrestled? You would beat him every time. You were so strong, probably because you had to be for ice skating. Then there was the time you wanted to show off your skills on the balance beam in the sand. You told your best friend to step back because you were going to kick him but he said no, he was far enough back. You insisted and he still said no. So you went ahead and did a cartwheel on the beam and kicked him right in the face. You felt so bad about it. His nose was bleeding and he was crying but you warned him. No matter what you could have done you couldn't have helped and I'm sure that hurt you a lot.
Now remember the time in third grade when the teacher showed you how to make Japanese paper houses? You paired up with your best friend again and you had Popsicle sticks and colored paper with glue to hold it all together. You made the house and he made the roof. He wanted to make the best roof possible. One that wasn't going to break or tear or fade offer time so he lined up a bunch of those sticks and made it sturdy. That wasn't the assignment tho and he realized he had done it wrong. You had made a perfect square house. You had colored it beautifully and it was exactly how the teacher had asked for it. After the class was done, you had a sweet idea. Since you had made the house and he had made the roof, you wanted to give him a part of you and keep a part of him for yourself. He got mad and was hell bent on keeping his mistake to himself. That hurt you because you cared about him and you wanted something to remember him by. What he didn't tell you was that he was embarrassed and wanted to throw his work away because he was ashamed of it. He didn't want you to remember him as a failure and someone who was dumb and couldn't understand basic directions.
You may remember the last time you saw each other. It was the Harkins on Bell rd. the summer shortly after third grade. You were leaving and he was coming. You guys greeted each other but even though he wanted to so badly, there wasn't enough time to stay and chat. Such a fleeting moment in history but it haunted his memory for years. You may or may not remember all of that but there is another part to this story that you don't know.....
What you don't know is that after you left that small private school, his world fell apart after you. With his third grade knowledge, he promised himself he'd find you. He spent the next 10 years searching for you. The methods evolved from your name in a Google search to Googling public record sites hoping to find some glimmer of hope. Facebook, Myspace, and even some off-brand social networks that were the equivalent of the internet's ghetto showed nothing. The only thing he ever found was the results to an ice skating competition at a local ice rink where you place 2nd place a few years after you had left school. He was happy for you and he missed you dearly.
5 years later, when a public records website only reviled two people by your first and last name (one in her 40s and one too young to be you), he stopped actively looking. Why wasn't there an up to date record of you in Arizona? Did you move states? If so, where to? How was he going to find you then. Your name is apparently more popular than he thought. He prayed that you had moved, or changed names, or went into witness protection, or anything other than the alternative. He stopped in order to save himself from what he might find.
I may have stopped looking but I never gave up faith that we would see each other again. I remember you face, voice, and smile like it was yesterday. Your the girl I can NEVER forget because you meant the world to me. You were my life, my sanity, and the one good thing that ever happened during those years. You were my friend, my family, and even today I miss you. I've come a long way from that insecure little boy who thought he was going to be with you forever. I write this in third person because I'm not him anymore. I'm not desperate for a friend or someone to love me. I have those things. I've learned who I am and I know you were in my life to help me through those years. Although I've come to the place in my life where I don't think I'll probably see you or recognize you again, I still miss you, and I still love you. My dear friend, my esteemed acquaintance, my most cherished companion. I hope you see this And I hope you find me. God knows what I would give to spend time with you again.
My best wishes to you and my most meaningful prayers for you,
Your best friend.
