Epilogue of a Departure

“I feel sick.”

That was the way a friend of mine described her shock. During those first few days she felt disoriented, her sign posts of life had been removed. She knew where she wanted to go but had no sense of how to get there. She said her stomach felt hollowed out, scraped to the edge of her skin. It was a debilitating sickness, one that challenged her professional goals and purpose.

Yes, I thought, I would qualify that as sickness.

What was she so sick about you ask? She had lost her friend. Not in a life or death sort of way, but in the manner that most people lose a friend when they move to a new city or change jobs. A permanent disconnect from their shared daily interactions; hard to ignore. Her friend was the glue that gave her work verve and support. She said that her friend made the sum of the parts of her professional life greater than the whole.

In the following months I saw her creep back towards acknowledgment and acceptance. It was slow, and I often didn't know how to help other than providing an open heart and mind. She accepted the change and found comfort in the fact that she had the honor of knowing, even for a brief time, such an influential person. She would often tell me that her friend became an important role model in life. I saw her emulate that model as time went on, doing good things for the people around her, and I could tell she was forever greatful to her friend's example.

It was late in autumn when we had our last long conversation about her friend leaving. This conversation served as a kind of epilogue, as I think she had finally found her peace. She had invited me to a pleasant dinner at a quiet little restaurant on Wabash Ave. Late in the dinner, I asked her if she had heard from her friend. She looked lost in her thoughts, long enough that I thought she had not heard my question at all. When she finally replied she said she hadn't heard anything from her in a little while. Then she took a sip of water, taking in and crushing a piece of ice. However, she continued, she knew her friend was doing good things in her new role. Being that positive role model for others. She finished crushing the piece of ice and added, that woman, she was one of a kind.