My friend, Åsa

A little less than a year ago me and my family packed all of our belongings and left Stockholm for the small and picturesque town Sigtuna. Ever since we had our first child, Jacob, five years ago, we had dreamed about this day when we would move into a house with a small garden. Here the children could run around and play and we would be so happy.

The day was very beautiful and before we left I had time for a short walk in the neighborhood and a cup of coffee at Spesso Café with my dearest friend, Åsa, who lived very close. As usual I enjoyed the coffee very much, because of the company. At the same time I felt a bit sad – I realized that the only thing I would miss leaving Stockholm was Åsa.

I still remember the first time I really talked to her. We were sixteen and happened to be in the same class at Carlforsska Gymnasium in Västerås. I ran into her down town and we decided to go to Mc Donalds together. Immediately we connected very well and had lots of things to talk about. It felt as if we had known each other for years. After having eaten a burger Åsa looked horrified at me: Oh no! she cried out loudly, I forgot I am a vegtetarian!! Spending time with Åsa is a lot of fun, I promise, and I knew I would miss her a lot moving away. We had been very fortunate to live close for the last five years. We decided to have lunch at least once a month even though we now would live far away, and we could always phone each other every now and then.

A few months passed. We enjoyed the summer in our house with a garden, and the neighbours were really nice. Åsa came to visit with her family, and again I was sad to see them leave after a lovely day. We arranged to have lunch very soon, and so we did. When autumn arrived, both of us seemed to have very busy schedules. No matter what day we tried to meet there was always one of us who had to cancel. Work, illnesses, husbands- I realized it wasn´t that easy to find time for a cup of coffee or lunch with a close friend in a city not that close by.

I missed our conversations, and her genuine interest in me and my life. I missed her jokes and laughter and I missed bumping into her at Konsum, always in search for a healthy ingredient to a soup or something. I missed our power walks and nonstop chatting, and I missed her huge sofas where we could lie down while our chatting went on. I had met no one in Sigtuna who could ever replace her…

In a months time from now we have lived in our house for a year. It won´t be for much longer, though, because we have decided to return to Stockholm to the same neighborhood where we once lived. There are many reasons to why we have made that decision, and for me the loss of Åsa is one of them. During this year I´ve learned the importance of having a dear and close friend – no house with a garden in the world could ever mean more to me than Åsa does! I am so grateful for having a friend like her!