It's 3:00 in the morning and I'm still wide awake. I kept tossing and turning in my bed but I couldn't seem to fall asleep. It must be the coffee I drank earlier that night in the casino. I picked up my phone and started dialing a very familiar number. "Hello", a soft sleepy voice answered me from the other end of the line; my best friend for so many years. She lives some thousand miles away from me but she is closer to me than my next door neighbor.

Everybody needs a true friend. Someone who will not hang up on you even when its 3:00 in the morning and when you talk of nothing but useless thoughts. I met my best friend when I was preparing for my board exams. We hit it off almost instantly and we became best buddies. We would go to church together after my review sessions and go window shopping when both of us had nothing in our pockets but peanuts and some loose change for the bus. We would talk for endless hours about our dreams in life. She never failed to narrate to me how her date went and I would always giggle listening to her. She would help me get through my review and keep me awake to finish a chapter or two.

After my board exams, I went home, started a career and went on with my life. My friend on the other hand, got a job abroad. We didn't hear from each other again. Years passed, filled with work and an endless cycle of errands and monotonous tasks. I felt a void in my life, somehow there was something missing -I missed my best friend.

One night I received an unexpected call. "My father is dead" I heard a voice so dear to me say and it was my best friend. With cracking voice she informed me that her dad just passed away. Without hesitation, I took the first flight the next day to see her. I needed to assure her that everything was ok. We hugged tightly like we never hugged before. Her face shows so much depression but at the same time gladness that I came to see her. I stayed for a few days to comfort her.

I flew back home and we vowed to call each other every week. Now we call each other every day. When I can't sleep because of some strong coffee I drank or when I'm depressed and frustrated with my work or when I'm happy because I got a raise in my salary, I never fail to share my thoughts. She may call me and cry because of a relationship gone awry and tell me of her pain and anguish, of her loves and laughter. We have become each other's counselor. The hours we spend talking have become hours of healing each others bruises.

I wonder what life would be if I haven't met my best friend.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Relationships