Islands

The heavy rain outside mirrors the deluge of emotion rising in my soul as I reconnect with an old friend. My reminiscent mind regressed to a time when we were each contending with our own dire and complicated circumstances - more than young people should be asked to bear. Ironically, the invisible thread that would attract us to eachother would be the same merciless force that would push us apart for so many years.

The way we coped with life became our common ground. In tumultuous times, we would each retreat to our own secluded island - desolate and uninhabited - where daily survival was questionable, at best. A life of solitude became familiar to us as we began to identify ourselves with our islands. Eventually, we each became our own island.

Occasionally, I would venture to the edge of my island where the elements could re-connect me with my long lost sense of touch. Wet sand squished between my toes and the cool, soft ocean breeze breathed on me. Unaquainted with love, I could only sense a mysterious feeling along with an intense fear of the unknown. But there he was - the object of my affection - a faint impression residing on the opposite shore- stranded on his own little island.

Separated by a great emotional gulf, we lived our lives in parallel fashion - never touching - never crossing - only able to gaze at one another as if from a distance. I was unwilling - unable - to bridge the chaotic expanse between us so we shared what we could - sunrises, sunsets - until the day that the pain of only seeing and never touching became too much to bear. One of us never returned to the beach that held our dreams. First one, then two broken hearts retreated to separate dark caves on desolate, uninhabited islands, each still longing for a touch from the other.

25 years have come and gone and through many hard knocks in the school of life it seems that we have both long since learned that no man is an island, nor can we be. It is at the point of intimacy and interaction that human relationship takes shape and we enrich one another's lives. By reconnecting with my old friend, I can now clearly see the interconnectedness of all humanity and I realize that a friend is more that just a special relationship. A friend is an eternal link in an endless chain.