Category 5

Sheltered in a tattered twig hut in the middle of a horrifying hurricane, we conversed. You told me our friendship would forever last, that we would navigate life together. Yet during the eye, the peaceful part of the storm, you left the hut. You didn’t say a single word or leave a single trace. The storm suddenly returned, unleashing its fury, blowing away everything between us, the meaningful things you said and the memories we cherished. We shared the same birthday and many interests. It was just yesterday we ran our mini business on the bus, walked to the school up the street nearly everyday to play soccer, and played video games together. It was just yesterday we talked about our future, relationships, and the mutual love we had for the soccer team Real Madrid. You became the person we both agreed not to become. You broke the oaths we made. Using vapes and substances we both promised to never touch. The hut’s twigs were savagely torn off, clattering on the wet grimy ground, with the wind's sharp whistle echoing. The empty spaces in the fragile hut represented our friendship, once covered and safe. There was comfort in the hut. Nurturing each other in times of sadness and celebration in times of happiness. I was dazed, pierced by the rain, powerful like bullets. Knowing the storm would soon come to an end, I avoided reparation, with acceptance. I knew to leave things the way they were. You were too far to be recalled and wouldn’t come back. Our friendship of more than 5 years and the close friends we made along the way flooded away like nothing happened. You found new people, somehow better than the ones you had. Your departure helped me to strengthen and rebuild my new hut. But I sat, reminiscing, wishing you would have stayed—unchanged.