A Halo of Memories

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"Halo" was sung by Beyoncé and it is a song that reminded me of my once best friend Vivian.

You know that friendship you thought would last forever, that sisterhood that everyone envied? That was the kind of relationship I had with my best female friend, Vivian.

Her name is Obasi Vivian, but I love to call her Vee. She was my closest person in our first year in high school and the only close friend I had. We became friends because she was my older sister's neighbor, and I had seen her many times during my visits to my sister's place. So when she got admitted to my school, it was easier to make her my friend.

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We looked very much alike; people often mistook us for twins. We did almost everything together. She wouldn't go to lunch without me, to the library, home, and literally everywhere. If she missed school, I was always the first person that our schoolmates, teachers, and classmates asked about her whereabouts, despite the fact that she had siblings attending the same school with us. We were simply inseparable, and people envied our friendship a lot.

She was the cool one, and I was the hot-tempered person—by hot-tempered, I mean I had anger issues back then. She had a nice voice and always sang.

It all started when she traveled for holidays to her aunt's place in Lagos during one of the school breaks. At first, things were going well. We talked over the phone, shared jokes, and gossiped as we always did. She would literally call me every day, even though I wasn't the chatty type. I preferred talking over the phone whenever I was in the mood, but she didn't mind. She called me every day just to share both significant and insignificant things with me.

Fast forward to the school's resumption, she didn't show up. She had been telling me all the while that she would resume on the first day of school. I asked her siblings; they said she had not and might not return from her aunt's place again. I called her the next day to ask her; she told me the same thing her siblings had said. I was broken because she was the only friend I had back then. But she assured me that we would still be best friends no matter what... I somehow felt relieved.

Things kept going well; she was enrolled in a new school there in Lagos, and she told me everything about her new school, classmates, and other things. We kept in touch until about two months later when she mentioned her lack of interest in school. She wanted to find a job instead. I tried encouraging her and giving her my support. To me, I thought this might not be the best way, but I told her to do what made her happy and reminded her that she would always be my friend, no matter what.

Remember those walls I built, well baby they are tumbling down and they didn't even put up a fight, they didn't even make a sound

A few days later, she told me she had decided to learn a skill instead, and I was happy for her. But that was the last time we spoke as close friends. For no apparent reason, she stopped calling, and when I tried to call, there were always excuses.

"I found a way to let you in, but I never really had a doubt. Standing in the light of your halo, I got my angel now."

I felt very sad. When she returned to visit her parents and siblings, she came to our school to see some schoolmates and friends. I met her and asked what she had been up to, but the reply I got shocked me. She said we were no longer in the same league; she couldn't be found mingling with a secondary school student and that it was the end of our friendship.

There was no fight, no quarrel, but I lost my best friend. I didn't even try to argue with her or find out the reasons why. I left her and went my way.

I was sad for not too long but stopped mingling with people for some time. Later, I made two close friends in the second year of high school, and we were very close friends until our graduation.

"Everywhere I'm looking now, I'm surrounded by your embrace. Baby, I can see your halo, you know you're my saving grace."

But I still remember Vivian, the memories we had. She was really nice, and I hope she's doing fine.