Nothing Was More Important Than This

A Story by alliemoop

Inspired by a chapter in The Name of the Wind and exurb1a's videos. It's a short story of four friends coming together and growing apart.

Four not yet friends are gathered in a room, each of them alone amidst a sea of people. All four were content, and while none of them knew at the time, they would forever be grateful that one had the brave to seek new companions. They stood in a circle, each holding a small cup that contained watered down beer. They exchanged names, then they exchanged stories, then they exchanged laughs, and unbeknownst to them a subtle alloy of chemicals enveloped all four. Time progressed, though they weren’t aware, and the time came to exchange goodbyes. They went on their separate ways, they thought of future conversations they would like to have, and each was suddenly scared that those future conversations would never be given a chance. They were wrong of course, for before long they would all think of the same thought�"nothing was more important than this.

Weeks pass and the four hadn’t seen each other since. None of them thought much of it but none could deny the spark in their eyes when by some magical roll of the die, they were together again. Ecstatic, though hidden, they agreed to have lunch. There was a certain air of familiarity between the four, though none commented on it for they were sure that the feeling wasn’t mutual. Lunch was nice, and surprisingly none of them minded when another started to become caustic. They laughed and they laughed and nothing was more important than this.

Months pass and the four has gotten comfortable with one another. Some would argue that they were too comfortable, but some would never understand, for some had nothing that was as important as this.

The four spent their youthful days very unyouthfully. Countless days upon days spent on a couch, or a curb, or a lunch table, or that one hill under a shaded tree, doing nothing. Only lighthearted talks about nothing that seemed like everything, and perhaps it was, for nothing was more important than this.

The four spent a night drunk. They said some things they didn’t quite mean or one kissed a person another liked or one started confessing things they shouldn’t or some punches were thrown. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem that important, not really, yet they spent the night in awkward silence. As they each walked home they drafted some apologies in their mind and swore to themselves that they would never let anything important ruin anything, for nothing was more important than this.

Years pass and a sense of premature ennui pinched their stomachs. They sat at the couch, or the curb, or the lunch table, or that one hill under a shaded tree for the last time. Life expanded past their little bubble and now they would each be separated for miles and miles. They exchanged stories, then they exchanged jokes, but they didn’t exchange sentimentalities. They didn’t have to, for the air of crippling malaise did it for them. They spent the night together, and nothing was more important than this.

More years pass and none of them have talked to each other in months. They were each mildly updated in each other’s lives via the internet but none of them could spare the time for each other, they had more important things to do. Friend B was getting their masters, Friend C was lost in their love life, Friend D worked jobs to seemingly no end, and Friend A was crying on the porch. Friend A didn’t know what caused it, these episodes were coming more often. Friend A hated Friend A, and Friend A hated Friend A for hating Friend A. The chill of the wind dried the tears from Friend A’s face, Friend A visited old memories, of better chilly nights and just for a moment, a quick flash of a moment�"Friend A wasn’t alone, and nothing was more important than this.

Friend C got married. The other three were left perplexed, but a bit of hope sparked within them. If a bludgering idiot like C could get married then maybe the planet wasn’t so cruel after all. They all attended the wedding and they exchanged hugs and they exchanged stories and they exchanged laughs, but it didn’t last long for each had more important people to exchange laughs with. The night came to a close and most people had left for the hotel, except for four that decided to stay. They talked of the past and they talked of the past and that was all they could seem to talk about these days. The night was near its end, though none of them seemed to notice, they cursed at the arrival of the sun and drafted apologies for their more important people in their minds, but they didn’t mind, for nothing was more important than this.

Friend A hit thirty, which marked the end of the last adolescent safety net for all four. A came home to an empty house, the other three are in their respective homes. They didn’t have the time to celebrate with A, they had more important things to do, do not fret for A, as A did too. At the end of the night A came across three emails marked as important. A read all three and smiled. They were short, but they were sweet, and A loved it. Before going to bed A chuckled; A wondered if the other three did too. A thought of how silly they were for thinking their friendship was the most important thing in the world, and A was sure that it was silly. Yet, a small but poignant warmth sparked inside, it is unknown whether it spoke of truth or lies, but it created a crescendo from an utter of whispering echoes, memories flooded A’s mind and the whisper cushioned A’s body like a bed of rose�"nothing was more important than this.