While aimlessly surfing the internet late last night a Facebook browser tab flickered, and began blinking. Curiosity got the better of me as it so often does, and I discovered a chat window from a friend on the other side of the world - a friend I have known for 12 years, but never met in real life.
She is the only person I have known since the beginning - the first real “blogger” I knew. She lived and worked in San Francisco through the dot com boom, and would invariably live in a chat window on my desktop most days - swapping stories, thoughts, and discoveries.
Somewhere along the way, life happened - children, school, work - and the friendship that once endured was forgotten.
Last night reminded me that although forgotten, the bond between us is a strong one. After months of toil, struggle, questioning, and doubt, her appearance felt like a bright shaft of sunlight burning through cloud.