ယဥ္တကိုယ္မယ္: In memory of Phi

Phi, that’s the nick name I gave you, Sophia after being close friends for a few years. I didn’t feel close enough just by calling you Sophia and wanted to feel closer and that’s how I came up with ‘Phi’. You weren’t that comfortable being called ‘Phi’ at first but I kept calling and you just made peace with it. You were my very first friend in USA and you were the first friend to visit my place and meet my dear aunt, Wa Wa. I wanted you to call her Aunty Wa but you kept calling Aunt Wa Wa. After a few times of fixing it, I finally gave up. I guess I was just being Asianized. To me, calling Aunty Wa sounded friendlier and warmer. That could be the cultural difference. I grew up in Asian culture while you grew up in western one. Our friendship grew over the period and in 2009, you pulled a string from this introverted girl and asked me to drive to Washington DC from Philadelphia. My very first road trip with a much needed freedom! I never drove any long distance without the supervision of my aunt. I finally did and enjoyed it to my fullest. We got asked out by two guys whom we weren’t much into. We politely said no. To me, it was more like not knowing how to react! 2009 was our Duo year and we did so many fun things together, shopping, sleep over and visiting places like long wood garden. I remember you got yourself a professional camera and I was your model despite my shyness in front of a camera. You were into photographing those days. I don’t know why but we didn’t hang out much in 2010 and after but we kept in touch. You went back to Ghana in 2011 and we stayed in touch via Gmail. We exchanged long emails in 2012. I then went back to Myanmar in late 2012 and we tried to stay in touch via viber. With a poor internet connection in Ghana and Myanmar, we were on and off. As long as I could remember, I tried not to miss wishing you on your birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year. In 2015, you sent me a Gmail sharing good news about you getting into a PhD program with a scholarship. Starting in 2018, our communication channels became Instagram and Whatsapp. Our communication became more frequent as you nearly completed your PhD program and I started a new hobby, running. You were so supportive about my running and we exchanged so much in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Then Covid 19 came and we shared some tips on fighting against Covid 19. We both decided to not take any vaccine for its side effects. After Dec 2021, you were MIA for nearly a year which is not uncommon about you. You too were introverted in your own way and I tried to give space by not bombarding you with sending messages. Besides, I too have my own stress with the political change in Myanmar and so much ongoing distress. In the Nov of 2022, you suddenly popped up in Whatsapp and I was pleasantly surprised. This time, I’ve become more appreciative of your friendship. I don’t know why. May be, I have a very little close friends circle or increasing digits on my biological clock? You wanted to start jogging in 2023 and I was giving you nutrition tips, run walk tips and encouragement. Starting on the 5^th of Dec, you stopped reading my messages though they were delivered. This was a season of holiday and I thought you went back to Ghana to reunite with your family. I wished you on Christmas but my message was not delivered. Again on New Year, it was not delivered. I checked on you again on the 21^st Jan, not delivered. It’s a typical of you and to be concerned of your health was the least on my mind. Just yesterday, your friend, Catherine whom we met in 2018 in DC called me via messenger and your death was the least thing I expected to hear from her. I was in shock and complete denial, Phi. What about our plan of meeting in the Summer of 2023? You didn’t give me a chance to show how much your friendship was treasured! It is so unfair you were taken away from us! You are still so very alive in my mind. Your passing has alerted me to stay in touch with a few friends I have and I promise you, I will. You are my forever BFF and May you find peace in heaven and watch over us!