Inspired by Timbuktu Within

I’ve been pondering this letter for years. Nightly, it seems, my hand has trembled furiously above paper, dreading what truth it may bear. The moment I give these contemplations life, I fear intimidation will overtake me. 

But how could I withstand the absence of my greatest friend? Our pasts will forever lean on the other’s presence. For some time, I was almost content with believing you had simply moved on. I quickly learned, however, that respect lacks consolation. My mind is eager to fathom your abruptness, how you abandoned me without explanation. 

We were children once, meeting for the first time. Plagued by shyness, our conversations were brief and painfully awkward. Eventually, the desperation we shared for companionship broke this barrier. Our bond was almost familial, manufactured partly by mutual loneliness. 

We grew up together, subconsciously relying on the loyalty of this unalterable friendship, never predicting that something could startle its harmonic essence. 

Apparently, we were wrong.

You never told me you were leaving. 

I know fighting fire with fire is foolish, but my anger is too strong. We were basically siblings. Siblings don’t vanish.

I suppose the legitimacy of ancestry is weaker than the house it resides in. Storms tangle around the foundation, collapsing with endangered legacies wafting through irreversible fog.

That’s what sunsets remind me of. The way we used to stare as clouds dominated the sky, laughing in delirium after a long day together. Now, I recognize the dreariness layering every dusk, beckoning the light to wear a somber coat.

Occasionally, silence portrays an angel, providing a shelter of peace. This quiet is stale and infuriating, causing any prosperity I own to suffocate. It manipulates my intelligence, convincing my eyes that they see your smile etched in the moon's craters. It mumbles your name before running elsewhere, cackling at my gullibility. 

Please, come back.

You’ll never receive this message. Where you are, letters disintegrate into ancient relics, tapping on the window between yesterday and reality. My spirit cannot travel beyond my breath, which is secluded in a world separate from yours. 

What am I to do without you? Respond at your earliest convenience, I’ll be waiting patiently. 

Sincerely,

The friend you left behind