Submission 260

To Will (Cathy),

I remember I felt like something inside me recognised you the first time I met you, and I’m not just saying that because it’s the kind of thing you say about someone when they die. It really was like a piece of a jigsaw fitting into place; and from that first night we met, you quickly became my best friend, providing me with so many wonderful years of deep friendship, the kind where you can communicate without speaking, where even the raise of an eyebrow could make us both hysterical.

I believe friends can also be soulmates, and I believe we were. That connection has stayed with me and carried me through the immeasurable and tragic loss of losing you. I thank you so much for that certainty you’ve given me. It’s a powerful feeling and even though you’re no longer physically here, our friendship has continued because of it.

I still think about you all the time, laugh when I remember something random you’d say, cry when a particular song comes on, and wish I could have you by my side still as we move into our 40s.

You’re still the funniest person I’ve ever known and I regularly listen to your voice notes when I need a laugh.

I’m so sad you’re not here with us. But I want you to know that you’re still alive and real to me. I think about how you would think about and respond to situations. I can still hear you scream-singing Mariah to me after a bottle of wine. I still talk to you.

I want you to know that I will always have your back, forever, and that you are still one of the most important people in my life.

Oh how I miss you.

Love you, Cathy.