To an old friend,

After all these years, I cannot remember exactly how we became best friends. But by just envisioning the world you and I created together, many years ago, I always smile. We filled it with vibrant colors and boundless adventures. Whenever I was with you, seconds, minutes, and hours were nothing but distant concepts. Under clear skies painted blue, the flowers were always in bloom. Perpetually hovering in the sky, the sun never rose nor set. Flourishing hues of green ornamented the trees, untouched by any kind of seasonal change. Our world was frozen in time, and I was perfectly happy, living in endless days of sunshine with you.

I was naïve to ignore the obvious. You and I would both change as we grew up, altering the world we shared. We began to visit it less frequently, now more invested in our own busy, separate lives. When you showed up for the last time, I could never have imagined that you were leaving for good. It never became clear that you were really gone until you simply never came back again. That was when the first winter arrived. I found myself alone in our expired world, feeling bitter and cold. I missed you more than anything. You were what kept this place thriving for so long.

It has been difficult accepting that the world we once shared is now dead, resting in an endless winter of fruitless trees and barren land. Part of me cannot let go of this abandoned place because I remember what its flowers looked like when they were in bloom. To this day, I have been watering their lifeless roots, hoping they will eventually spring back into life.

A piece of me will always want to return to our special place, with you as my best friend, again. However, I need to abandon my futile hopes that our world will ever be revived. Holding on to what has already been lost will always be useless. Until today, I was in denial that you had left. In the bottom of my jewelry box, I found an old birthday gift you had once given me. A fleeting feeling of reminiscence ran through my bones. I finally understood that my best friend, who had given me that necklace as a child, was no longer in my life.

The world I now live in is certainly missing you, but losing you could never be an easy process. Although you were not a permanent part of my life, I am grateful that you became such an integral piece of it. I could never thank you enough for the ways you shaped who I am today. Sharing a childhood with you, I discovered what it means to unconditionally care about someone.

I am finally accepting that you are not in my life anymore. My world will still go on spinning, without you.

~End of dramatic, emotional letter.~

Love always,

Amanda