Longing

I dreamt last night of my life-long, best friend who died at about this time three years ago. I awoke with my heart aching to hear his voice, my eyes weeping and a loneliness so intense. I miss him...

Excerpt from my upcoming book, Above the Clouds...

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“Pleased to meet you, Angie,” he said, still grinning. “I’m Tommy. We went to the same school in fifth grade. You were in Mr. Peterson’s class, but I was in the other fifth grade class.”

My jaw dropped to the ground and he chuckled at my reaction.

“Tommy?!” I quickly took in his appearance once again, even more startled by his good looks now that I knew who he was. “Oh my gosh! Wow!”

Not the most flattering words, I know, but what could I say? I was at a loss and completely breathless. All he could do was laugh.

“I have waited for this moment,” he said, still holding my hand, “the moment when we would meet again. I have kept track of you since you moved away and I saw you every now and then, but never approached you.”

I stared at him, speechless, until he continued. “So, now, here we are. And, Angie, I have to tell you ‘thank you’.”

“For what?” Besides being speechless, breathless and light‑headed, now I was curious. It was a delirious feeling.

“Thank you because you were the only one who was nice to me. You were the only one who never said mean things to me. You were the only one who made me feel like I was worth anything. Even though we never talked, you smiled. It made all the difference in my life. Because of you, I have been able to become the person I am today. And, I have loved you from the first time you did smile at me. So thank you.”

How do I respond to a person who has just changed my entire outlook on life? How do I explain my feelings after being told that I have had such an impact on a single person’s life without ever knowing it?

The tears in my eyes blurred my vision. I loved him at that moment, as strongly as I hurt for him when we were younger. From that moment, we became fast best friends and shared a unique love that no one could ever touch. We stuck together through everything and were always there to lift each other up, give a hug when needed, wipe away the tears, and laugh...a lot.