A Friendship Like Ours

            Once upon a time, in a land not in Asia but in the Pacific Islands region (unless, of course, it was OK to be called Asia that particular day), a beautiful baby girl named Natalia was born.  And this little baby was no ordinary baby for she had special powers…powers that she would not know of until much later.

            At around this same time, in a land across the sea, another little girl named Katherine was preparing for her first Christmas.  Well, she wasn’t really on account of her being only months old, but boy, were here parents excited.

            Little did these two girls know just what JACK had in store for them.  But, then again, maybe somewhere deep down inside they did, because when their worlds collided, it felt like they had always known each other.

            Fast forward fourteen years or so and Natalia had grown into a beautiful young lady and had moved across the sea.  Katherine, while not as beautiful, had also grown.  While not knowing each other at the time, they both headed off to Alletak High School to begin a new chapter in their lives.

            While Natalia may argue with Katherine over when they first really met, as Natalia claims to have said several hello’s and how’s it going’s to Katherine, but it wasn’t until Katherine’s junior year that they began to really talk.  For Katherine was a shy girl and didn’t really open up easily to Natalia’s friendly advances.

            But during that volleyball offseason, something amazing happened that the world probably wasn’t prepared for: Natalia and Katherine became friends. But it wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine in the beginning.  Katherine still remembers that traumatic day when she rang up Natalia to relay some important volleyball information and Natalia replied, “Katherine who?”

            But after Katherine had established who she was and Natalia was able to put a face with the name, their relationship really took off.

            It was around this time that Katherine became aware of Natalia’s special powers.  Natalia was able to make Katherine laugh until she couldn’t breathe, make her comfortable with sharing feelings that would otherwise go unsaid, and make her feel important and special.  In short, Natalia filled the empty space in Katherine’s heart that Katherine hadn’t even known was there.

            They took the world by storm with their plethora of inside jokes and complete disregard for how crazy they looked when they were out in public together.  They helped each other deal with silly boy problems and provided shoulders to cry on when life got too heavy.  They were unstoppable.

            But then it came time for Katherine to go on to college and leave Natalia.  It was both an exciting and sad time for Katherine.  She was scared that she would lose the closeness of her and Natalia’s friendship.  As time went on though, Katherine realized how silly she was for thinking that only one hundred miles could even come close to messing with their relationship.  Although they didn’t get to see each other as often, when they did, it was as if Katherine had never left.

            Then it was time for Natalia to go join Katherine at college and JACK wouldn’t have it any other way.  Katherine was beyond ecstatic to be able to experience college with her best friend.  That fall quarter they spent together was one of the best times in Katherine’s life.

            It came to a screeching halt one day when Natalia quietly stated that she wouldn’t be enrolling for the next quarter.  Katherine, in that moment, became very selfish and couldn’t understand why Natalia would do this to her.  But she quickly realized that Natalia wasn’t doing this to hurt Katherine, but because it was what she needed to do.  Katherine, although sad, saw Natalia off with her full support.

            This new development did not phase their relationship.  In fact, it was almost as if Natalia never left since she was always coming down for weekends filled with dancing, birthdays, and goofing off.  Natalia continued to use her special powers and keen insight to save Katherine from a college-life crisis (similar to a mid-life crisis).  Katherine tried to reciprocate these powers whenever Natalia needed them.

            As they continued along the path of life, they soon found themselves graduating and moving into the big, bad world full of work and responsibility.  As always, Katherine was a bit scared, but Natalia was right by her side as they took the plunge into adulthood.

            Years came and went,  Natalia and Katherine had their ups and downs, and families of their own.  Katherine took Natalia’s daughter and her own shopping and taught them all she knew about bargain hunting and the latest trends.  Meanwhile, Natalia coached their sons’ basketball team because that is what they agreed upon way back when they were in high school.

            And as Natalia and Katherine sat on the porch of their summer lake house and watched their grandchildren play in the water, Natalia turned to Katherine and asked, “Do you even remember how this all started?”

            Katherine simply smiled and pull out an old, beat up little notebook and replied, “Let me tell you…”