Sitting in our favourite café, I swallowed hard. I just couldn’t brace myself to reveal this difficult news to her. Seated in front of me was my dear friend whom I had known since my childhood. We had been together as we faced every hurdle of life and had made countless memories in this city. I was well-aware that moving from here would be hard, but separating from her would be even harder.

I heaved a long sigh and uttered abruptly, “Emily, we are moving to the UK.”

At this, the first emotion she displayed was confusion, while sipping her coffee. I looked at her with anticipation, waiting for a reply.

Then she answered with a grin spread wide across her face, “What do you mean? Going to the UK all of a sudden?” she chuckled. Her reaction was exactly what I had expected, she had taken it as a prank.

It was all too much for me now. Tears brimmed up in my eyes and I explained, “Yes, we are going. My father got a well-paying job there and we are supposed to move there in two weeks.”

I said this while preventing my tears from trickling down my eyes. That was when realisation hit her and she perceived that I was not at all bluffing with her.

“But why didn’t you tell me earlier?” she complained while looking down to hide her tears. “This cannot be happening. You, my only friend, my best friend, and now you’re moving to another corner of the world. What will I do over here without you?” she said and began sobbing bitterly.

I moved forward, instantly grabbing her hand in my own and consoled her. I tried to assure her that it was not that bad, but the truth was that I didn’t believe in what I said.

Trying to sound positive, I said, “We will still be best friends and you should know that you will always have a special place in my heart, no matter where we are.”

At this, she replied, “Of course I know that. But not having you around is not something that I am used to. You are like my sister and are very special to me.” She was weeping miserably now. It ached my heart to see her like this.

“Don’t worry, you will always be able to contact me and I will still visit,” I reassured.

This brought a ray of hope in her. She got up while wiping her tears and embraced me. I was relieved to see her composed. But then it dawned on me that I was about to begin a new chapter of my life without her in it, which shattered my heart. Nonetheless, I tried to cherish these last few moments with her, to forever hold it in my memories.

Published in Dawn, Young World, February 8th, 2025