The Arcane Society

Chapter 23

July 16th

Torn Friendships Part 1

I decided to start a little series within a series. This will be about all the friendships that myself, nature, or the other person tore.

My first friendship and friend, we'll reintroduce Iliana.

Iliana and I were both Latinos in 1st grade, stuck, lost, without a purpose. I had Marlee but her and I were separated. I could only see her at recess and lunch. Iliana was the one who broke out of her shell, while I still stood shy.

Iliana and myself forged a bond. No secrets and no arguments. Even in the secret language. We even traded hair clips so we could remember each other if something happened. I still have the minuscule baby blue hair clip. Hopefully, she had my medium-sized ruby red hair clip. We were braiding each others hair.

"Hey, Elisabeth, do you wanna trade hair clips for a day?"

"Sure."

The bond worked out fine. I didn't make any reckless decisions not did she. We got comfortable with each other, but I still kept Marlee close by.

Graduation came up and I come to school. Iliana and I were gathered in front of the classroom. It was a fine June morning. Iliana didn't look happy.

"Iliana? Is everything alright?" I ask, my innocent kindness kicking in. Life felt pure back in the old days. Nothing was tapped with lies.

"I...can't tell. Honest." She said sadly.

"You're breaking the bond...?" I could hear my voice crack with anxiousness. I thought I was ready for this.

She nodded, and suddenly she started to weep. I lead her to the outer reaches of the hallway and we sat at a table there.

"So...why are you breaking the bond?"

"I'm moving to a different state today." Those first two words were enough to make me gasp in shock.

"Iliana..." I didn't know what to say. Perhaps my 7 year old self didn't see enough in life to say any kind words of wisdom. We gave a final hug and when we stood up. I grabbed her shoulder. "Wait, promise me something. Remember the hair clip, okay?"

She nodded. It felt as if life reached out and tore a piece of my heart away. The graduation was fine. Nothing felt good anymore though. Even the delicious local cake tasted mediocre.

Technically, I kinda stuck with Marlee for a while. Until, I met someone new. Someone who understood me.