Her--Repost
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Her
When I was a little girl I had a bestfriend. I mean she was my BFF. We hung out every single day of ouryoung lives. We did everything together. Then when I was twelve Imoved away. Well, I tried finding her a few months ago via the great godof google.
According to some random paper Ifound: I think she’s dead.
I remember Her father’s phone numberby heart. So I called him a couple times but didn’t leave amessage. I called from the Land Line and he called back and my fatheranswered, I wasn’t home. “Someone called from this number?” Herfather asked.
“Oh, it was probably my daughter, Nina. Who is this?” my father asked. We’ll call him Tom.
“This is Tom do you remember me?” heasked. They lived across the street from us at our old house.
“Oh yes how are you Tom, maybe shewanted to talk to you about Her,” my dad said. Tom didn’t say She wasdead.
“Just tell Nina I called,” Tomsaid.
See the thing is, Her mother died of alcoholism when I was twelve. The thing is, She asked me one time when I was like eighteen if she could stay with me because Her father remarried a woman who was making Her life miserable.
Coincidentally there happened to be“crazy drama” going on in my household at the time that she asked and there wasno way my parents were going to allow Her to crash with us. So I told Herno.
Then she said the words to me I willnever forget: “I guess this is how you know who your true friends are.”
I never saw Her again.
I invited Her to my graduation partyand Her father, Tom, and his wife came, her brother even came, but they saidshe had a stomach ache. I was too busy at the party to think too muchabout it and maybe start crying or whatever.
Years later I decided to dedicate mynovel to Her and I imagined I would send Her a copy and we would be friendsagain.
I found Her name on the people searchengine, and it’s her correct first name, last name and her correct age livingin Michigan. But the Paper says Tom’s daughter died. I never calledTom back.
I don’t know if she is dead.
Am I a weak person for not trying to find out? All I have to do is make a phone call. I remember. I remember everything that we did together. We started a band with tennis rackets as our instruments. We played monopoly for days at a time without cheating or quitting. We watched The Facts of Life. We danced for hours to Madonna tunes.
I was there when she opened hermother’s diary and found out that her father was having an affair. Hermother blamed Tom for ruining her life, making her run to the bottle.
I was there the night Her motherpassed away.
I can’t, I just can’t know.
Ignorance is bliss right?
Wrong.
I’m gonna call Tom. I’ll getback to you when I get the courage to make the phone call.
If she is dead, how did shedie? I assume she got involved with the wrong people and maybedrugs. Or maybe she contracted AIDS. How does someone so youngdie? Drunk Driving perhaps?
Could I have saved her?
Update: It's ten years later and I still have not had the courage to call her father and ask him what happened to Her. I also have a new theory that she probably killed Herself.
nina
