An Old Friend

Yesterday I met an old friend…

Many months ago, I was passing through the Esplanade train station where I read a missing persons poster. The face was familiar. It was a friend of mine. Someone who I went to high school with. I was shocked, and immediately spoke to the other people that were good friends with him at school and no one seemed to know his whereabouts. I eventually thought that I guess all that can be done is being done, the authorities are looking for him.

Yesterday I was walking through the same station, and bumped into this same person, metres from where I saw the poster. He had a wide smile when he recognized me, and greeted me with a big embrace. He said he’d left home after his parents gave him an ultimatum to go to uni or leave. He looked like he was in a terrible state, but was trying to make the most of his circumstances.

My heart goes out to him - for all the great laughs with this old friend.