My childhood friend

“ You’re going to be great one day.” George squeezed my shoulder tight.

“ Thanks brother, you too. One day you and I are going to be great together.” I said. We looked away, tried to find something interesting to distract this hard reality.

Some minutes passed in silence, two innocent souls were deeply in their own thoughts. Every memories came back like a waterfall, tremendously tried to break our hearts into millions of pieces.

“Never thought one day we have to go through this.” George said, and I looked at him. It looked like he was trying to eat an awful dish of bitter melon, which he detested, but this time he didn’t throw up nor cursed. But his eyes looked so sad, his forehead creased with wringkles. Apparently he was trying to say something special, maybe some awesome memories we spent together in our 13 long happy years that was coming to an end.

“ Remember that time when you slipped on the dirt road right there and smelled the whole day at school huh?” He pointed at the road quite far away, even then still filled with piles of dirt.

“Yeah, the time you tried to cover up for me by telling my parents you pushed me accidentally so that they didn’t punish me for getting dirts by myself.”

We looked at each other, smiled, with tears running down our faces. We were so poor at that time, couldn’t afford a second set of uniform, and after years of cleaning up my uniform due to the dirt I messed up with, my parents grew tired and would get mad at me if I did it again by myself. And when George stepped up that time, even though they weren’t pleased at all, they still not got mad at me.

And all these memories brought back memories. It was hard for us to tell who was more emotional. George and I were so closed, living only a roof apart. Our bonds were beyond friendships and neighbors, even closer than brothers. I remembered a day at school when I was picked up and bullied by a gang of older kids at school. George was always there, fighting back for me. After the fight, he was punished and had to stand at the corner all day long. I couldn’t help but stand with him throughout the day. We were like the perfect match, the best of best friends, the inseparable bros.

There were so many beautiful memories that we spent together, at this village. But it seemed like when it was time to say goodbye, only difficulties, funny but more about sad memories were displayed. It didn’t make us want to leave the past, but rather told us to appreciate everything and reminded us of the value of these memories. Happy memories are too easy to forget, and those sad ones hit us differently. They stay forever.

That’s why in our last conversation before I moved to the city, it overwhelmed with sad memories. But it was by these memories, that our bond grew stronger. And, it stays forever.

 “ Will you remember me?” I asked, with tears rolling down my cheeks. “ It’s just, maybe… maybe I cannot return here soon, maybe a lot things changes, maybe we would never met again?” I looked away, couldn’t tell him the darkest fear.

“Always, brother.”

Not long after that conversation with my best friend George, I had to move to the city for medical treatment. My health had deteriorated over the years, with my kidneys barely worked. If they failed, then I would die. My parents had to use all their savings to get me to the operation. But at that time, the source of kidneys for transplants were so rare, and my parents couldn’t afford for a kidney nor an operation that can take their kidneys, not to mention the fact that theirs weren’t any better than mines, due to years of heavy manual tasks. I was on the verge of dying.

But when everything seemed to settle down, there was a light that brought life back for me. It was on a Wednesday night, on the very last day in hospital with the medicine and healthcare that my parents would afford, when my stomach hurt terribly that a donated kidney was given to me. I survived, and was able to go back to my normal life. I returned home, only to find out that George’s family had moved out. There was even rumors that George left home, leaving his parents behind. People said his parents were so miserable that they went bankrupted. I was so sad, devastated, and depressed for a long long time. I still went on the same road to school, still filled with dirt, to the same secondary school, getting bullied for being a nerd. But only for this time, I was alone. But the strength of him was now inside of me, maybe not physically but mentally. I remembered every single word of our last conversation. And with him telling me to be great one day, it guided me through all the pain that I had to suffer. It was sign that never stopped blinking, kept telling you to move forward. It was him, it was me, it were us, after all, going through all of these things together. And even if he left this place for whatever reason, our bond was still there, still existed. It was just not as visible as his smile,his face, but with all the memories and everything that tangled us,we were always connected, as one.

But after waiting for five long years, I finally had to accept the fact that he may not come back. It was sad, but i was old enough to face reality.

At 18 years old, I fortunately got the scholarship to a university in the city. The hustle and bustle of the city life had made me gradually forget the difficult past. But with everything going, I still deeply missed my brother for life. I wrote letters to my parents twice a week, endin the letter with a similar question: “ Is George back, mum?” I knew that she would inform me if George came home, but the urge of seeing his name, even if it was just written by myself and mum was something I missed so much. At university, I stayed active, enrolling in many classes and clubs, just to find someone that could understand me, a friend. But it was hard just to find someone I would call upon, let alone somebody that could replace my dear childhood friend. During that time I started writing stories, chasing my dream of becoming a writer. By enrolling in a writing club at university, I met the girl of my life. After 4 years of hard work and determination, I graduated with a business master degree, got a job at the bank….

At some stage life, you start to ask yourself what is the meaning of life. At 27, I asked myself the same question. I nearly had everything. I got promoted to manager, bought my own house, living the best life I could, with loved ones around. I knew a lot of people, some of them became my friends, but no one could replace the special place of George in my heart. During this time,a book that I wrote got to the best-selling chart. It was awesome, almost a perfect life for me.

But the best thing I had ever dreamt of happened in May that year. My girlfriend’s cousin living abroad invited us to her wedding. I had never attended a wedding for me, so that one was very special. But that particular wedding was beyond special, it was unforgettable. As I arrived at the airport, there was a slightly strange feeling in me that told me this trip was going to be special. New York did not fail to amaze, it was modern, beautiful and yet elegant at the same time. We arrived one week before the wedding day, so there was plenty of time visiting places and meeting new people. I enjoyed meeting my girlfriend’s relatives, they were so nice and treat us warmly.

Two days before the wedding, my girlfriend and I were invited to a “family dinner” between the girl’s family and her fiance’s family. As we sat there at my girlfriend’s cousin’s house waiting for her boyfriend’s family to come, I grew so nervous without any cause. “It was just a dinner, nothing to be worried about”, I thought. The first thing I noticed from the groom’s family was that there was only a few of them, only 4 . The groom’s parents, his sister, I guessed, and the groom himself. The next thing I noticed was that, while the parents and sister were Caucasian, the groom looked like he was an Asian descent. He was well built, muscular, and very handsome. The third thing I noticed was that he looked so familiar. His nose, his eyes and his smile, it was so familiar that I thought I had seen him somewhere… He looked so much like a movie star back in my country, though I did not recognized.

I sat there quietly as we ate silently, listening to the conversation of the parents. The groom’s mom was rubbing his head, smiling widely while telling everyone about her son. “ George is so much a good looking guy, even more handsome than some famous actors out there. And he is so smart too, graduating his college with top mark. Such a great charming little kid. Oh I forgot he had grown so much, always thought he was just a 14 years old kid, and now he is going to be a husband in no time. Oh my boy, such a fine great young man he is.”

The groom blushed scarlet as his mom went on telling everyone how great he was. “ I’m not great, mom, just okay.” Everyone smiled warmly at him. “ Oh such a humble kid he is, always deny all of his accomplishment. Such a good boy ….”

For the first time, the groom turned his eyes away from his parents and his fiancee and her parents, and looked all along the table. As his gaze glided along the table, our eyes met briefly for a second, and he looked away. And just as quickly as it just had been, he looked back at my direction for the second time. This time, it lasted for five seconds. It was the most magical, fantastic and mesmerizing moment of my life, as I, myself, looking in the face of the most special human being I had ever been with. His face shined with utmost joy and surprise, his jaws dropping, his eyes glazed gleefully as in that moment everything seemed to stop dead. We looked at each other, George and I, after 14 long years, as we shouted simultaneously:

James!

George!

We stood up and rushed to each other’s arms. In that moment everything seemed to stop. I was standing there, hugging my childhood best friend, my brother for life. We hugged each other so tight, for a whole minute. I started to cry like a child, with tears streaming down, and I can feel his tears rolling down too. It was so emotional, so special, so incredible, that not even the most beautiful word in the world was able to describe.

After what seemed like an eternity, we stopped hugging, but tears and smiles still ran on our faces. He squeezed my shoulders tight, just like the last time I saw him.

“ Oh my god, thanks god, it’s you, James, you never know how much I miss you, Oh my god, I am crying.” George said, tears kept him from saying words clearly. “See, I never forget you” he said with his smile brightened up his face. “You look great, brother. Although you grow a lot, your face doesn’t change much.”

“ I miss you so much too, George” I said, using my hands to clear the river of tears on my cheek. “ After finding you for many years, I had not ever expected to meet you this way, two days before your wedding. Wow, congrats, my brother. And by the way, you have changed so much from the last time we met that I barely recognized you. Just when I looked into your eyes, seeing the eyes, the smile that never changed, I would know that it is you.” He looked so different, tall, muscular with darker skin. Years of living abroad had definitely changed the appearance of my brother a lot. But it nonetheless had not changed the person he had always been, caring and loving me. “yeah bro, and you know what, maybe we could be a family members one day”, he said, winking at my girlfriend.

The big family gathered around us, begging to hear the full story of this wonderful reunion. As we sat around the table, George and I began to tell our tales. I told everyone about our amazing childhood together, with George added some unforgettable memories, some were funny, and some were sad. It was the happiest moment of my life, sitting around our loved ones, telling our stories together, smiling happily together after 14 long years.

 “ I had to move to the city for medical treatment, at that time I had kidney failure. Sorry George, I couldn’t tell you because I knew It would break your heart and made you sad.” I said, telling the reason I had to leave. “But I don’t understand why you had to move out of our village after I left?” I asked George.

George smiled warmly, but then looked down, avoiding my gaze. “ I knew about it James. About your health problem and everything. I asked your mom one day before you left why you had to go. She told me everything and it was nothing be afraid, she said. But as your father came back from the city hospital, I heard your parents talking about how serious the situation was and the lack of kidney for transplant. I knew how weak you were, and that day I cried so much. I asked my parents if they had some money for your operation, but they were too busy arguing, fighting for divorcement that they didn’t care about me. I was desperate to help you, and the fact that my parents didn’t care much about me led to the decision of going for you. I wake up later that day, got some of my parents’money, catching the train to the city and went to the hospital. I donated my kidney for you, and at that time the doctors didn’t even have me writing any forms at all, I just gave him some money so that he would transplant it for you and kept you from knowing that it was mine, because I knew if you knew, you would not let me go, and that going was my only choice . When I returned home, my parents had gone without saying a word, leaving a letter with some money. It said that they had divorced, and I could go anywhere I wanted, using all of that money to live my life. They didn’t care for me anymore, and the house was bought, I had to go. With some money, I managed to go to the coast and worked on some ships. One year later and I was here. I was adopted when people knew that I was only 14, and lived happily to this day. I had always dreamt of going back to our village, but a lot of things kept me from returning. But I always missed you, missed our childhood…”

That night we didn’t sleep. We talked all night. He was not only my best friend, but also my savior. He had done so much for me, which I could not express fully the love and the gratitude I had for him. After the long sleepless night of chatting, the next day we spent hours of the morning just to sleep. The evening was so awesome and romantic, as George and I, with our girls went on a little date night. We had so much fun, and at the end of the day he asked me to be his best man at the wedding on the next day. I agreed without thinking, it was the least I could do for him, for everything he had done for me.

“George, you know what, I am thinking if you’d like to be my best man” I said, before we seperated.

“Best man for what?” he asked, confused.

“ My wedding, you dummy” I smiled, turning to my girlfriend. “Linda, would you mind spending the rest of your life with me?” I asked her, with the roar of laugh and excitement from George and his girl.

My girlfriend was also shock, but it was only two seconds before she bursted into tears and said “Yes, of course yes!!” I stood there, ecstatic in joy. It was the most beautiful moment of my life, proposed to my girlfriend, with George by my side.

“Welcome to the big fam bro”, George said happily and congratulated me. It was the best two days of my life, meeting George again and my girlfriend became my fiancee.

The next day, on George’s wedding, with a lot of emotions, I was finally able to stand up to have a speech as his best man. With the two of us standing side by side on his special day, I realized, for the first time, that we were great. Great together, he and I, as one again, but this time, may be forever.

And those below were some of the words in my speech, inspired by Allie Condie:

“ … Love this man to death. Growing apart doesn’t change the fact that for a long time we grew side by side, our roots will always be tangled. And I’m glad for that…”