Into thin air.

Loosing someone can be quite sad but not knowing the whereabouts of a dear friend is even more disheartening. I long to see a dear friend of mine so badly that it hurts. We were close pals in school but due to relocation, we got separated and ever since then, I have had a hard time trying to decipher her whereabouts.

"Is it possible for someone to exist and not be found?" This is what I think about every time her picture flashes through my mind. She was a loveable person. She did nothing unique to earn my loyalty and trust, all she did was be her caring and beautiful self and I was moved to make friends with her.

Let me introduce my friend..

My friend's name is Ijeoma which means good journey. We became friends as far back in primary school. I am talking about way back in 1995. We were classmates but soon became sitting partners. We did almost everything together like twins and it helped all the more when we found out that we were birthday mates. We were both born on the twenty-first day of June, how very sweet.

Our bond grew as we grew too and even our families knew about the other. Her family loved having me over as I was a chatterbox then. I guess growing up sealed my lips, hebe.

The separation began when we were to write our first school leaving certificate while in primary six.
My dad wanted me to continue attending a private school while her parents wanted her to attend a government established school and that was how we parted ways. Initially, we could still visit each other since we lived on the same street but an unfortunate incident led to their relocation.

*Source: Meta Ai

Turns out that there was a robbery one night and in the course of trying to disarm a robber with a weapon, her elder brother was shot dead. This was a heavy blow for the family and after the mourning was over, they relocated to somewhere else. It was so sad that they never mentioned where they would be going to and I was still little to begin inquiring deep questions. I felt she and family would move to the next street or the next next steeet but that was not the case.

Till date, I have not heard a single word from Ijeoma. I usually wonder how she might be fairing and if she has settled down with a good man or not. I even wonder what her dream course of study would be and if life treated her fairly in general. Hmm, I even ask myself if she would still be fair skinned or her skin would have been tanned a little by the sun. I also wonder at how the course of our lives would have been entangled and what direction it would take but no suitable answer comes to my mind.

I have tried inputting her name in to some social media search engines, hoping to find her social media accounts but all to no avail. Majority of my primary school classmates have also relocated to other cities and states within the country. Those whom I am in contact with don't have her contact information. So as it stands currently, Ijeoma disappeared and I have no explanation for it.

Ijeoma, wherever you are, please be alright.

Thank you all for reading. This is my response to the #decemberinleoinitiative for day #6.

Thumbnail image is mine.