A Friend in Need

Believe it or not, I only realized lately the real meaning of the saying, "A friend in need is a friend indeed." I thought all along that the friend in the saying is a friend who needs help that's why he's being a friend indeed, until I got to test the saying on a long-time friend in my time of need.

To my dismay, she refused to take my side. She just wanted to be on the safe side, the neutral side. Some friend. Friends are supposed to take definite sides -- to stick with you 'til the end or be devil's advocate.

Oh, well, I've been letting go of a lot of excess baggages lately. I'm letting go of a husband, a mother, and now a friend.

"Let it go, let it roll right off your shoulders,
Don't you know, the hardest part is over,
Let it in, let your clarity define you,
In the end, we will only just remember how it feels."

So goes the Rob Thomas soundtrack for the movie Little Wonders. The first time I heard the song, the first three words hit me hard. I have a lot of letting go to do.

Yeah, these twists and turns of fate. My own mother jeering instead of cheering at the sidelights as if everything that's happening to me now is final and over for me. I feel like a lame matador cornered by a raging bull, with no one to turn to for help.

But there are friends turning up in the most unexpected places. These are the friends in my time of need. These are real family. Friends indeed.