Moments spent are like changing seasons — they come and go. A moment once spent cannot be brought back again. The only thing that remains with us is the memory.

I still remember the day when I first met Sally. I was six. Sally was short and thin with long rough hair. She looked very scared and was always clinging to her mom. Her family had just moved to the house next to ours.

As Sally was very shy, she did not speak to me during the first few weeks. But gradually we became friends. We spent our childhood playing all kinds of games and doing all sorts of mischief. As days passed, I got closer to Sally and soon we became the best of pals. However, my parents did not like my friendship with Sally as she was a so-called ‘low-caste’. But despite my parents’ objection, I did not give up my friendship with Sally.

We went to the same school and were in the same class. Sally was a very bright student and always stood first in class. With Sally’s encouragement, I started working hard in my studies and was able to secure good marks. Seeing this, my parents changed their thoughts about Sally and her family, and they stopped telling me not to be friends with her. Eventually, my parents started talking with Sally and her family, and a good relation was maintained between our families. We grew older. We changed with time and so did our interests. We finished our school. Sally got a scholarship in a university in UK, while I went to the US. We lost touch with each other. Years later I came to know that Sally’s family had shifted abroad.

It has been about 11 years since I last heard of Sally. I wonder where she is and what she is doing. I still cherish every moment I spent with her and long to meet her one day.