Alice was my first ever BFF. We were attached by the hips in elementary school. I remember fondly how we walked home from school hand in hand, every single day. We did everything together and were super protective of each other. Our parents knew each other too, as her dad was a physician, like my dad, and doctors know each other in Taiwan, especially when they're similar in age. In fifth grade, when I had a tiny cyst in the upper right corner of my forehead, it was Alice's dad who operated on me.
When my family moved to the States in the early 90s, Alice's family moved to New Zealand. During our adolescence, we lost touch. I thought about her from time to time, but was too caught up in my immediate circles in high school and college to reach out. After 18 years of no contact, in 2009, I received a post card sent from Alice, and it was stamped as sent from New Zealand to San Francisco in 2004. The post card took 4 years to get to me, after being forwarded by different people and being returned to the post offices numerous times, as I had not lived at 1 address for more than 2 years since I started college. What a tenacious postcard to find its way to me and not get lost. It was fate. I was jumping up and down with joy to know that she had tried to contact me, yet sad to think that she probably thought I never wanted to respond to her. I immediately emailed her at the address she jotted on the post card, but I didn't hear from her. Apparently, her email had changed, but at that time I didn't know.
a few months passed by, and one day I decided to search for her on facebook. AND I FOUND HER! I was so happy to see her profile picture and glad it was a very clear shot of her face, not some random photo or artistic blur. I found out she moved to Shanghai to work in banking after college. And of course, I wasn't going to let her slip through my fingertips this time. She is one of the best people I know with extreme integrity and passion for life. Though we had missed the last 20 years of each other's life, we picked up right where we left off. Talking about the shenanigans in grade school feel like yesterday. One of the sweetest things for me, is to hear an old friend, a friend who has known my family, including my dad, talk about my dad. It reminds me of the carefree and privileged childhood I had. It puts a smile on my face. It makes me miss my dad, but it's the good memories that I cherish and smile for. Alice is that old friend, a friend through time, a timeless friend, who is here to stay. I'm so grateful I found her and it is obvious that we will not let each other skip out on any part of our lives again!
Alice and I recently
That's a great story Minnie.
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