Not too long ago, I decided to
send an email to a friend. I guess “friend” is an understatement. He was
like the older brother that I never had. During the past seven years, we
occasionally kept in touch, but it always seemed like a token gesture and
painful. When I discovered through a mutual acquaintance that he worked in the
same city, I felt I should try to rekindle the closeness that we had in college.
Gosh, has it really been seven years? I must have written that email at least
five times. Each time I was done, I could not bring myself to hit the SEND
button. Finally, as he would often say, Carpe Diem.
For the next two hours, I
anxiously awaited his response. What would his response be, I wondered. Perhaps
he would give me the brush-off. After all, from what I heard through the
grapevine, he now leads a successful professional career, while I still live the
life of a struggling entrepreneur. I came back from lunch and noticed that he
sent me an email. He seemed elated to have received an email and wanted to meet
up as soon as possible. So we met up later that night.
As the night approached, I became
anxious. The nervous energy could best be equated to the feeling one gets when
one has to meet the parents of one’s boyfriend or girlfriend. When I finally
saw him, I felt so awkward extending my hand to give a handshake. Is this how
you greet a “brother” that you haven’t seen in seven years? Thankfully, he
extended his arms to give me a hug. For a few minutes, the moment was admittedly
awkward. We drove to a local bar to catch up on old times.
We couldn’t help but relive the
shared happiness, sadness, and memories while the two of us were just kids in
college. Perhaps, we did this just to re-establish the connection that we had
once taken for granted. We eventually talked about what we have been doing the
past few years. Yup, he teased me about my current status as a luckless bachelor…just
like the good ol’ days. Minutes soon became hours. The more we talked, the
more we agreed that it indeed had been too long. How we had allowed
ourselves to let the closest of friendships erode seemed so incomprehensible
seven years ago.
After he graduated from college,
we both made excuses why we did not keep in touch. But days of procrastination
became weeks. Weeks became months, and months became years, until we were no
longer friends but memories. And every so often, I would be reminded of the
special friendship that we had. And each time, I hesitated from giving him a
call. “He surely has better things to do than hear from me” would be the
standard excuse that I gave myself, until I finally sent out that email.
I cannot speak for him, but
sending out that email is probably the greatest gift that I gave myself. Sure, I
have plenty of friends and work to keep me busy. However, all friendships seemed
inferior to the bond that my “brother” and I shared. And now that we have
given each other this opportunity, I am anxiously looking forward to being a
vital part of his life and vice versa. After all, we have seven squandered years
to make up.
