I have a lot of memories from my childhood. I grew up in a middle class family. Both my parents worked very hard, and my family always had food on the table, presents at christmas, and we took road trips every year.
School for me was a bit boring. I was not very outspoken, and focused mostly on getting good grades, and had a group of friends with whom I played and rode bikes.
All these memories take me back to the 5th grade, and to one of those friends, who at the time and without really knowing what the future would hold, became a really good friend. Obviously I was too little to understand the meaning of that sentence. A 'good friend', a 'best friend'.
This friend always had good grades, and was very intelligent, extremely intelligent (he will deny it!). To this day I am amazed at how great his mind is, but I will get to that later.
One day he got a grade below excellent, and it upset him. This is the brightest and most alive memory of my childhood, don't ask me why.
I think because he and I were so similar when it came to our academic work, it surprised me that he got a lower grade.
I remember clearly just sitting next to him, not talking, not trying to say anything. I just sat there and stayed with him until he was feeling better. Eventually all was OK and we moved on, it was the 5th grade after all.
A year later he changed schools and we kept in touch, though not a lot. We would see each other at random times throughout our teen years, and at some point ended up in the same Uni, studying the same degree.
We spent the best part of 6 years in Uni, and worked together during my graduation project, and we reconnected. We would not talk about really deep stuff. We were young and hopeful of a better world out there.
When I graduated, I moved away from my homeland in search for something new. And so did my friend, pursuing his academic career, he moved to France, and I was not far away.
It was during this time, that we got in touch again. I would go visit every few years, and we kept in touch, and that frienship that we had since we were little kids, running around and being upset for getting a not so great result in a test, just felt like it never left.
He is the kind of guy who does not think twice before saying yes to something he feels passionate about.
One day I told him, 'Hey man, why don't we cycle to Paris from the UK', he said 'alright let's do it', and so we did. There were some great memories in that trip, some that I may tell you about in the future. It was great, and we got to Paris 300 miles later.
There have also been tough times, and he has always been there, not to tell me what to do, but to simply listen to what I have to say, to be a friend. When mom passed away, he joined me once more to cycle down to Paris. Me, carrying a bit of my mother's ashes in my saddle bag, and forgetting to take them out when the bikes got packed up in the lorries to take them back to the UK!. I managed to get them back before they left.
That day I will never forget. There was silence, the cathedral bells ringing, and the ashes in the river. I let mom go, I had to.
A couple of days earlier, we were cycling down on the second day of the route (I think), and it was pooring down badly. We could barely keep up and the roads were real bad. A lot of feelings got to me that day; My mom, my life, everything got mixed together, and it was just a catalyst. I cried, a lot. He was there, just listening, the same way I was sitting there with him back in the 5th grade, just waiting, and letting it heal, and moving on.
I will always hold these memories like a treasure, because you never know when those moments, if ever, will return. What do I know for sure?, that we will be friends forever, and always support each other no matter what life throws at us.
I can count my best friends who are like brothers in this world with one hand, even less than that. I can tell you one thing is for certain, and is that he is, and will always be, the best friend in my life. Thank you, brother.
Here we are 6 years later after that trip to Paris, trying our best to have a good life, enjoy everyday, and be the best we can be at what we do. I still tease him about that time I had to pack his bags so we would not miss the train, and he missplaced his paperwork through passport control, boarding the train literally 10 seconds before the doors closed. Or the time I shouted 'Get out!' at the finish of the biggest race I ever have done in my life, because I was worried I would get disqualified if he got into the course with me. He reminds me of that to this day, a lot!.
We have built plenty of memories together since that day in the 5th grade, and grew up to live the best life we possibly can. Each following our own path, but always remembering that a friendship like this is hard to come by these days, and treasuring them like gold, even more than that.
Thank you my friend for being there for me, throughout my life, for listening, for just sitting there quiet when I was in pain and letting me heal. I only hope that I have been there for you in the same way, even if in the slighliest I can do all the things you have done for me, I will be forever grateful for having such a kind, honest and amazing friend in my life. One I would sit down with at any time if he ever got a bad grade in a maths test.
A brother, forever.
Thanks for reading.
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