A Lasting Relationship That Will Never Die
A woman mourns the memory of a close friend who passed unexpectedly
Early last fall, when the leaves began to change colors, I started to feel like I was drifting into the first waves of depression. It was an acute feeling, a knowing, made only worse by sitting still at home every day, pondering my thoughts.
And so I bought a ticket to San Jose, Costa Rica, for a long weekend. I packed what could fit in a small backpack and made minimal plans for my time there. While away, I gorged on Taco Bell beef tacos, fried chicken and soft pillowy biscuits from KFC, and at restaurants where I could have a feast of Costa Rican food — my choice of meat, white rice, black beans, plantain, a small salad — for just a few dollars.
At night, when I could hear only the rustling of next-door neighbors in the Airbnb where I was staying, I talked in hushed tones to my closest friend, catching her up on my life.
I talked out loud to her, my dear friend Precious, who had died a year prior.
No one tells you how to cope when a friend dies. There are no instruction manuals. No guides for the bereaved who feel inescapably lonely because their confidante, someone who felt as near and dear as a sister, is no longer among the living. No real sympathy or…
