Reminiscent

A Story by Skye

A friendship lost beneath the seas of time, a bond damaged by the winds of life.

I look back at that time now with only sorrow; the passing tie has worn down the sharp edges of bitterness that has plagued me for so long.

I switch the bracelet from hand to hand, first yanking at it, then soothingly stroking the well formed stitches,and admiring the skill and precision of the intricately woven strands. Each tightly pulled knot gives the bracelet a nice shape, but it does not destroy it's delicate softness. I finger the cheap plastic beads, but I don't think scornfully of the inferior material anymore; I can only cherish the way they beads catch the light of the sun, reflecting in a deep aquamarine. In the imitation crystal surface, I see myself, and I see a precious friendship lost.

I was six years old when I first met Lily. Dangling my legs to a random rhythm, I had been sitting on the plastic blue swing of the playground, my lips forming a straight line as I waited patiently for my brethren to arrive at our general five o' clock convocation. I hadn't noticed her approaching the next swing from behind me and silently occupying it. I had my rapt,undivided attention dedicated to a tiny yellow bird perched on a branched portion of the leafless tree overhead. I kept watching as it shook its head vigorously, trying to shake of the provoking water droplets which had settled on his head,from the brisk morning shower- which had no effect on the current heat.

The sudden noise of creaking chains from beside me had broken my trance, I looked around at the girl beside me, irritated.

"Who are you?" I asked, a modicum of rudeness slipping into my voice. The girl beside me looked about my age. She had golden eyes which shone with every word she said, and short,preppy hair which gave her an austere outlook and white,skinny arms and legs which held onto the chains of the swing as if fitting like puzzle pieces. To put it plainly, she was beautiful.

"I'm Lily," she smiled at me, disregarding my rudeness,"and you are...?"

"Jennifer," I said, returning her smile and shaking her extended hand. And that marked the beginning of an extraordinary friendship.

Me and Lily grew up to be best friends. She was a family, a partner in crime, a friend, but more than that she was a safe place, unconditional love , and a person I could relate to. We made identical bracelets for each other and vowed to open it only after forever ended. So,one day when I found a rather disturbing note tucked away in my diary, I had to read and re-read it several times to make sure that I wasn't envisaging some wretched lie.

"I'm sorry,Jennifer, but we cannot be friends anymore."

I was perplexed. It was difficult to imagine that my best friend would say something like that to me. I was scared, afraid that Lily would just harmonize with what was written on the note. So I just decided to procrastinate the task of confronting her about it, and I decided to wait.

I waited outside her English class the next day, with nervous dread in my heart. Finally ,Lily walked out, hand in hand with a girl,Katie, about whom both me and Lily had always criticized vociferously for her popularity and airy behavior. The smile on her face flickered at my sight. Still debating about my following actions, I walk to Lily and wave the note in front of her.

"What is this supposed to mean,Lily?" I asked her. She looked at me with guilt,"I' so sorry,Jenny,I-"

We stared at each other in echoing silence, her golden eyes pertaining to sadness, The best moment of the times I had spent with her raced through my mind, as if writing their own obituary, and I knew that she was thinking about them too.

"Jennifer, she doesn't want to be your friend anymore,OK?" Katie said, breaking our fixed gaze.

I was befuddled; I tried to register the inscrutability of the sentence. As an undesired sense emerged miraculously from confusion, my best friend cast me one last helpless glace and walked away, leaving me alone with the aquamarine bracelet that she had made for me.

'Honesty is the best policy' ,'The truth shall set you free'. Whatever. Sometimes, it is a necessity to lie, even if it is to protect the feelings of those around you. The truth about the truth is, it hurts. It so freaking hurts, that as human beings, we'd rather avoid it's path.

As I sit here, four years later, I can't help but wonder for what seems like the thousandth time- does she still have the bracelet I that I made for her?