Story Two Sally's Lesson

Candice McCarty

Professor Morgan Peters

English 200-08

December 15, 2011

Friends, come and go but some stay with you and they teach you things about yourself that you never thought you knew. This was never more the case than Sandy and Norbert. These too fish were inseparable as youngsters, and they did everything together. Now they knew that boys and girls weren’t supposed to play together, but they just had a bond that they couldn’t deny. They used to ride the morning current to school together, and play tag at recess every day. Everyone thought they were going to grow up and get married and have a family of their own.

          But one day Sandy woke up and brushed her teeth like normal and waited for Norbert to go to school but when he didn’t come by she figured he was like sick, and went along her way. When she got home her mother told her to sit down. “Sandy, I’m sorry I have to be the one to tell you this, but your friend Norbert got caught in a fisherman’s net while on his way home from the supermarket yesterday.” The words went right through her she was speechless; she swam from the living room and went into her bedroom and cried for hours.

          She couldn’t believe it, “No he’s not gone, this is just some trick they’re playing on me, yeah that’s it” she said that to herself all day until finally it sunk in. Her best friend the one that she had grown up with, and shared her childhood with, was gone and there was nothing she could do about it.

          The very next day, and every day following that for a year Sandy was bitter, she became cold, and wanted no part in anything. She was mean to her parents, and mean to her old friends, and stopped talking to everyone in general. She resented the world, and the people that had taken her best friend away and she couldn’t do anything to bring him back.

          Then one day, on her school graduation, the one that Norbert was supposed to be with there with her she told herself. “Norbert wouldn’t want me to be this way; he would want me to have good friends, to live life the way he wanted to, to be free to explore the possibilities.” She realized that day that she had to go on and live her life to make her best friend watching down on her in heaven proud, proud that she was strong enough to make it in this cruel world, strong enough to know that she could do it on her own, that she had enough strength inside of her to live up to their expectations, and strong enough to live life.

          Her friend although he never said it to her taught her a lot about life. He taught her strength, love, friendship, kindness, and forgiveness. Although the world took something away from her, she knew that is was all God’s plan and he only did it for the best. She was meant to stay in this ocean because she had a purpose, and although it was going to be hard, she was going to do it with the memory of her best friend always close to heart.