A Forgotten Promise

Kyra and Sarah were the best of friends in school. They were always there for each other through thick and thin.  If one of them were to be spotted alone you would start wondering what was wrong. Their friendship was the epitome of love and caring and would be exemplified in their school by teachers and students alike. Teachers would discuss the two friends' closeness more than their performances in parent-teacher meets. 

As luck would have it, they got into the same college after school, and their amity continued to blossom. Their college principal would often say jokingly, "Kyra and Sarah's relationship is more of an addiction than a friendship."

When they finished their education and were going to pursue their own careers, they pledged to always stay in touch and never let their friendship die. They promised each other that they would meet up every weekend and this promise, they agreed, was necessary so that they keep the flame of their friendship alive. 

For the first few months, they met frequently and spent hours together, chatting, laughing, and reminiscing the good old times. However, as time went by, their weekly meetings became monthly and then even quarterly, mainly because Sarah was too tied up with her daily chores. In fact, she would think to herself, "Isn't it time I stop these childish and unproductive meets? Haven't I got better things to do?" But she could surely not say this to Kyra and hence she would come up with different excuses to not meet. Kyra experienced this strain in their relationship and tried to spice up their meetings in different ways but was only saddened by Sarah's persistent and obvious resistance to meet. 

Finally, Kyra gave up and stopped calling Sarah. Days turned to months and months to years, and the two inseparable erstwhile friends broke all contact.  

Then one day, disaster struck. Sarah fell severely ill and the doctors said her illness was curable in only a small percentage of cases. Her family was there for her and took her to the best of doctors but she only got worse and her suffering increased as each day passed. It is often said that you value people only when you need them and then they aren't available. Sure enough, suddenly after all these years, Sarah suddenly remembered Kyra and how she would be there for her all day, even in the slightest of illness in school and college. She recalled those times when Kyra had been by her side throughout, and she was overcome with grief. Tears welled up from deep inside and coursed down her cheeks. Oh, what a fool she had been and how she missed her friend! A sudden wave of emotions took over her, and she broke out into an uncontrollable sob. 

She picked up the phone to call Kyra but what would she say? That she was sorry? And now she needed her friend back? Or that there had been no moment to spare in the hubbub of life? No explanation could she think of to justify her callous behavior. 

Not knowing what to say over the phone, she sat in her car and raced straight towards her friend's home. Worried about how Kyra would react to seeing her after so many years, anxious thoughts pushed at the corners of her mind. She pulled up in the driveway and walked towards Kyra's doorstep. She anxiously rang the doorbell, trying to get a grip on herself. Her palms were sweating and she could feel her heart racing faster than a train. When Kyra opened the door, she was taken aback. She was not expecting to see her friend at all. She wondered what had made Sarah visit her after so many years. After taking a seat on the couch, Sarah took a deep breath and narrated everything that she had been going through recently. Having finished explaining the situation, she looked at Kyra, hoping that she had forgiven her. Kyra smiled and wrapped her arms around her friend. Both of them felt something that they had not experienced in a long time-the love of their friendship. They spent some quality time together, thinking of all the years that they hadn't met each other, and vouched that they would never let their friendship die henceforth. The long-lost promise made in school would now no longer remain forgotten.

~Veenaaz