My hometown was hit pretty bad by the Great Recession. Many of my friends growing up left to other lands or otherwise just vanished. Things weren't going great for me either. One day I decided to visit a town where I used to visit family a lot when I was a kid. It was always such a bustling town which was pretty different to ours. I thought a trip down memory lane would do me good and also to see if I could get any good ideas.
When I got there I was surprised to see so many shops had either changed or were gone and empty entirely. Many of the busy streets were really dead and deserted now. I should've expected this but nothing could've prepared me. Not even news reports about the recession hitting other countries all over the world.
I guessed many young people emigrated from here too. I was getting anxious. Because I wanted to see if I could visit a childhood friend of mine.
My heart started beating fast when I saw her family's old shop sign with "OPEN" on the front. I hurried to take a look and there, behind the counter, was her father. He was much greyer than I remembered... but he was still here and doing business which made me feel good inside. The thought then crossed my mind that maybe she emigrated... I hoped that wasn't the case. I walked in, unsure if I would be recognised...
Her father looked at me and gasped. He smiled from ear to ear and laughed, greeting me with such energy, like I brought him back to life. We chatted about a lot of things at once! He noticed me looking around the shop nervously with a knowing look. Then he called out her name. The dense bead curtain covering the staff room door parted and out popped her head in a rush. It was her! Her wide blue eyes were unmistakable and she was still gorgeous. She smiled and laughed, rushing out to give me a big hug!
"OHmygoshwhereintheworldwereyouit'sbeensolong!" she blabbed as she squeezed me with excitement and danced around. Her dad laughed and walked into the staff room to give us a moment.
We were reunited. We chatted about so much... our lives as kids, the recession, what happened to our hometowns... we had so much to catch up on I ended up staying the night and having dinner at their place. Their home was almost exactly as it was when I was a kid. It felt so good to indulge in memories and something familiar again! Life made sense all over again! After this I never stayed away from her for too long!
No comments:
Post a Comment