For Maggie

"Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies." - Aristotle

Maggie and I shared everything - our deepest secrets, our interests and dreams, even our clothes. We'd talk on the phone for hours, and hardly a day would go by without one of us being at the other's house. At the age of maybe 8 or so, Maggie said she wanted to marry my brother solely so that we could be sisters. We always dreamed that somehow we were, perhaps not in body, but something deeper, something even stronger. I had vowed then that I would let nothing, nothing tear us apart.

We've been friends for 12 years, and in that time we've weathered our share of adversity. But we were always there for each other, to lend a hand or help to heal a hurt. We listened, we shared, we laughed and we cried; we faced both joys and sorrows together. Our friendship has successfully survived countless trials, each struggle only strengthening our bond. It seemed as though nothing could weaken our sisterly love. And nothing has. We still love each other dearly; but that seemless bond we once had has somewhat changed - as have we.

Change was the one thing I hadn't counted on. I knew that people did change as they grew older, but I had always figured (rather foolishly) that we would change in the same ways. And in some ways, we have; while in others, we are quite different. It's not that this puts a barrier on our friendship; we still are close, and after all that we have shared in this life, I believe we always will be. It will just be different from what I expected it would be back when I was 7. Our friendship hasn't lost it's strength, it's just changing, like we are.

Mags, I know that we're always going to be close. We may never quite have the closeness we once shared, but I still share a mind and a heart with you, even though our changing lives are tugging us in different ways. I want you to know that I love you and always will; that you have been a friend like no other, and that I would truly be lost without you. I've always feared two things: change and time; but I know we can face them together. I will never let our friendship die.