Letter to my Ex-Best Friend

Dear Ex-Best Friend,

We haven’t had a real conversation in over a decade. We spent hours talking from dawn to dusk. In person, on the phone, about everything and nothing. I still can’t figure out when best became ex.

Can I share some memories that play on repeat on the movie screen in my mind? Would you even care to know? My first real memory of us was talking to you through the fence that separated our homes. I have no idea what we talked about, but the memory always puts a smile on my face.

Hey ex-best friend, do you remember the sleepover we had at your house? There were so many sleepovers. Waiting for Jeremy Sumpter as Peter Pan to fly through your window and take us to Neverland. Why did we grow up? We do believe in fairies! We do! We do!

Do you remember being young teens following the cute guy around to get him to notice us? Do you remember when hanging out at the mall was THE THING to do? When we would scour the stores for hours trying to find the perfect BFF charms. Remember when forever was forever?

How about that one sleepover where we stayed up all night then road tripped to your family reunion? I couldn’t count how many family reunions I went to with you. I miss being a part of your family. I miss your mom thinking of me as her fourth daughter. Automatically including me in family outings. When did it stop? We were sisters. I want my sister back.

I remember the boat ride on the lake when we were teens. I still have that photo.

Remember when we were going to be YouTube stars? Somehow, those big dreams faded with our friendship.

The memories, the inside jokes, and the secrets. They’re all locked in a vault. My mind still flashes with those jokes. Who else is going to understand why I’m sitting in a bathtub full of milk in a wetsuit?

Dear Ex-Best Friend,

I really miss you. I miss the memories we could have made. We were supposed to stand for each other at our weddings. We were supposed to be the best aunts our children could have. We could still be having sleepovers and watching old movies on orange tapes. Lip synching the music from our childhood. Belting out Disney songs like we could carry a tune.

Dear Ex-Best Friend,

We’re strangers now…