‘Ugh! Everything is a mess!’ I whispered to myself while crying on the bed. For the past few weeks, nothing seemed right to me. Every single thing I could possibly imagine was wrong — I had a fight with my best friend and since then I did not feel like studying anymore.

My life seemed to have lost its colour without her. My grades were falling and my parents did not understand my pain and were always scolding me for getting poor marks. But the worst part was plastering a smile on my face all day long during the school hours and spending time with my classmates, while inside I felt totally broken. Still it was easier pretending to be happy than explaining why I was sad.

All sorts of thoughts were crowding in my mind. How could my best friend replace me was the question that nagged me. A little voice inside me said, ‘Go and ask for help’, but my heart still refused.

The next day, in the geography lesson, I sat starring out of the window, daydreaming. During recess, my tea­cher sent a peon to call me. I was astonished and wondered what I had done.

But as soon as we sat down together, she asked in a soft, gentle voice, “Anything wrong, my dear?”

On hearing this question, tears welled in my eyes and I nodded slightly and then told her everything I had kept bolting inside me.

She patiently listened to all my problems and then said, “Manahil, my dear, everything is temporary. That’s the best and the worst truth of life. I know it hurts, but that’s what life is. It is a balance of holding and letting go. Don’t worry. This pain will fly on the wings of time. Just set yourself some goals and try to achieve them. This is the time to find yourself, avail it because it may never come again.”

Just then the recess bell rang and I went back to the class, not forgetting to say “Thank you, teacher.”

I did as my teacher told me to. I engrossed myself in other activities, I set myself goals and tried to achieve them. I started spending more time with other friends. Sarah and I sat on the opposite corners of the class, sat apart in the van and never came across each during recess. I saw less and less of her each day and sometimes even forgot that she even existed.

Days and weeks flew by. One day, I spotted Sarah crying quietly during recess. She pretended to be reading a book but I knew she wasn’t. I went up to her and asked what the matter was.

She said that the girl, (her new best friend whom she had replaced me with), had made use of Sarah.The girl had now found a new friend and was totally ignoring Sarah. She also asked me if I wanted to be friends with her again.

My heart leaped with joy and I immediately replied, “Yes.”

We hugged and everything turned back to normal again. I realised my friend was ashamed of her attitude and she now seemed more caring. That night in bed, I thought how wonderful things had turned out to be. It’s true that ‘every cloud has a silver lining’.

Published in Dawn, Young World, May 4th, 2019