I Had a Friend Once

I had a friend once, we were more like brother and sister though, we planned to travel the world, to watch our favourite bands in concert, to well whatever children plan to do when they’re growing from age 6 to age 10. That was when I lost him you know, it’s all my fault, he was meant to sleep over at my house the night before his 10th birthday, we were playing in my backyard on the trampoline, and we decided we were thirsty and in need of a drink, we went inside and got out the coke and decided to see who could drink the most, he sat and ate lollies while he watched me drink as much as I could, then it was his turn. I ate lollies and watched him drink, as soon as he passed what I had drunken he stopped and grinned. He told me he wanted to play a new PlayStation2 game, that he wanted to stay inside in the cool for a while. I told him no, that I wanted to jump on the trampoline, that I wanted to play football or soccer or cricket, just do something athletic. He sighed and followed me out and I jumped around on the trampoline and played a game of tag then jumped on the trampoline again. It was then that it happened, that I threw up all over the backyard all down my top, my mother came outside and told me that I was too sick to have a friend over, she sent me inside to clean up and called my friend’s father. His daddy came and picked him up, and I waved goodbye telling him that I will be at his house early the next morning that I am sorry before running back inside to throw up again.

This part is what I was told by my friend’s daddy, by the men in the blue uniforms that were at my friend’s house the next morning when I walked over there. On the way home they went through a green traffic light, they were halfway through turning when a car slammed into the rear passenger side, killing instantly my best friend, his daddy didn’t know he was dead and turned around in the car speaking the words, “aren’t you glad we’re alive,” the five words that haunted my friend’s daddy in his dreams. The man that hit them was drunk, and later on he got sentenced to 3 years in jail for manslaughter and a few other charges. I hate that man, and I hate the judge.

I didn’t tell my parents what had happened, they never knew, don’t even remember who he is. I walked to my friend’s funeral, I sang there our favourite song, I miss you by Blink-182, I was held back at the burial when I punched out one of the men who were filling in the hole after my best friend had been laid at the bottom. I visited everyday, and now try to visit every anniversary seeing I had moved away two years after he had died. I wear bangles on my arm in memorial of all the times we had shared, how many years it’s been since God stole my best friend. Since he stole Thomas Jackson Adam Young age 9, 11 months, 29 days and 14 hours, Thursday June 12th 2003.