fragility

When I first moved to New York, the city was full of people I knew...or at least people who looked like people I knew. Everywhere I went, I would see someone who I thought was a friend from back home. But a closer look always revealed a stranger.

Today at the mall I thought I saw a stranger who looked so much like a dear friend of mine. I knew it couldn't be her; she lives across the country. As the woman and I walked toward each other, I realized it was her. My heart sank. She is coming home in just two weeks for our high school reunion. If she was home now... unexpectedly...something was very wrong.

We hugged. "Lydia died," she said.

Lydia was her sister's best friend. She was 26-years-old. Healthy. Now she is dead. Apparently meningitis was the cause. Doctors think it developed from a lingering sinus infection.

Life is ridiculously fragile.