An Irritating Friend

“If you are alone, I’ll be your shadow. If you want to cry, I’ll be your shoulder. If you are not happy, I’ll be your smile. If you need me, I’ll always be there.” I got this note from a girl when I was an intermediate student. My teenage mind leaps up with joy. We were in the same college but she was one batch senior to me. We become friends and friends forever.  

She was the only daughter of her parents. Her father was a businessman and mother was a housewife. She lived in old Dhaka with her parents. She was very obedient to her parents as well as her teacher. She was a regular student and never absent from college. So we could get together regularly. 

Most of the time after and before our classes we spent time together by gossip and discussing our study. She was meritorious and very helpful to me. ‍She would guide me very carefully. She helped me to prepare my lessons and do my homework. We would go on outings on weekends and holidays. We visited together at our historical place. We were enjoying our time together.

She was very caring to me. Sometimes it was very excessive and unexpected. She did never bear our distance or my absence from her eyes. Her extra caring annoyed me often. He would call after midnight and wake me up and ask, "Are you sleeping?". Sometimes, ‍she would wake me up very early in the morning by phone call and sing for me. Though her voice was sweet enough and  she could  sing well, but it was irritating for me so early in the morning. On weekends or holidays she would annoy me by phone calls once per hour or frequently. My parents were worried about her excessive attention to me. She did not bear another girl beside me. If my female classmates tried to meet up with me she was aggressive to them.  This is why I had no girlfriend in my college life. She thought if I had a girlfriend I'd go to hell. People around us were whispering about us but she never heed to them.  

After five years of our friendship, she suddenly got married to a  South African expatriate. I had got rid of her irritation. But after a while I started to feel like I felt empty inside my chest. “Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.” I still miss her very much.