My best Friend


My story of friendship dates back to 1999 when my parents shifted to a new house in the suburbs and I began the daunting task of trying to fit in and make friends.
Children, like dogs, are territorial and don't particularly warm up to new faces. I was excluded from games and parties and was shunned altogether.
I would have grown up a loner with fictional characters as friends had it not been for Aisha, a young girl of my age who took a liking to me. I, being inherently a talkative person and she a sound listener, we bonded instantly.
I would conjure tales of dinosaurs and warrior princesses and she would drink in every word with rapt attention. She accepted me and my imaginary friends with open arms and a toothless grin. She was my best friend and confidante.
We would team up for weekly visits to the library. We'd have picnics on the terrace with a hope of recreating Scenes from Enid Blyton novels. We once sold lemonade on the streets in the hope of earning a few bucks.
We adopted street dogs, taught them tricks, started secret societies and solved make believe cases. On one occasion we tried separating two dogs while mating because we thought they were in pain. That’s when we received the parental sex educational talk which disgusted us to no extent. We celebrated at length with the Harry Potter characters and sobbed uncontrollably when Dumbledore died.
We are young women in our twenties now pursuing our careers and in weak moments stuffing our minds with thoughts about silly boys. We've tackled puberty together, supported each other during heartbreak, stood outside the trial room
Encouraging each other to try new outfits and accept our bodies.
Not only is Aisha my closest friend, she is someone I look up to. She is wise beyond her years and brazen in her approach to problems. Her advice is sound and next to evangelical.
Friendship is a divine relationship that brings together intellectually and emotionally similar people transcending their cultural differences. What would I have been without Aisha? An undeveloped meandering soul! The irony of life is that boyfriends cause you to fall in love with them but the best friend makes you fall in love with yourself.

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