TW: There are some references to mental health issues and family issues in this piece!
To: Eliss
From: Angel
To my good friend Eliss,
It certainly has been a long time since we’ve talked to each other.
Isn’t that interesting? How we can go from being so close that we confided in each other about even our smallest struggles to being complete strangers. You went from being my closest friend, my lifeline, to just another memory floating in my mind. I am no longer a person in your world, but just another one looking from the outside.
It’s neither your fault nor mine for drifting apart, though. Maybe it’s human nature to migrate. To drift from one person to become closer to another. We are constantly moving and changing and perhaps it is only natural that we leave some parts of ourselves behind. Regardless, I will never forget you.
Looking back on freshman year, it feels so long ago. I think about how I’ve changed, become more confident in myself, worked my first job, and kissed my first girlfriend. I also think about how lucky I am now, compared to freshman year, to have friends who care about me. I remember how alone I felt, isolated in my bedroom away from the raging chaos of my family and the world outside. Back then, I yearned for anyone to listen to my bottled up thoughts and feelings.
I am lucky to be here today, writing this letter to you. I am lucky to have somehow found such a kind-hearted and compassionate person to be my friend. Lucky to have you when I had no one else. (Where would I be had you not fallen into my world?)
You’ve taught me that we are too often told to be lucky for what we have and not who we have. The only thing I will ever feel lucky for is the people around me, for what else is more special than a person? The people we meet are completely random. Strangers on the bus can suddenly have a name and a hobby. You are the reason I am still here today, that I didn’t give up in those dark times.
I hope you are doing well, Eliss. As I near graduation, I think about you and how I never thought I would make it to this point. The world sucks, but luckily, I had you with me each and every day.
Love,
Your friend, Angel.
Thank you for reading this article by Angel Liang, our staff writer! Stay tuned for more works by Angel and our other writers in the future and read more about her here.