'Sisters'

24 hours ago they were here. Leaving them at the airport felt very strange. Wrong, somehow.

Leaving my ‘sisters’.

These dear friends – a friendship which goes back nearly thirty years – came to visit. Our days were filled with laughter, reminisces, secrets told, more laughter…

Days of wonder, as we looked at the Little Chapel, so lovingly crafted out of shells and fragments of porcelain and pottery.

Days of exhaustion, walking the steepness of the cliffs. Marvelling at the birds soaring above us, the tiny flowers clinging to the spare soil beneath our feet.

Days of laughter, when we couldn’t stop smiling for the joy of being together – especially when we met up with Alan, also a friend from Kenya days. I’d kept it a surprise for them. Their shrieks of amazement and delight, when they met him on Herm as we stepped off the boat from Guernsey, brought smiles to the faces of strangers.

Days of enjoying the sun, the sand, the shells and the sea air.

Days of eating and drinking in celebration of a birthday, a reunion, thanksgiving for the years then and now.

Days of the comfort of being known so intimately that there seemed to be nothing we couldn’t talk about and share with each other. Days when we realized that there are very few others who we love so much that we feel as close as family.

We plan to meet up again soon. Because leaving felt so very, very strange.

Leaving my ‘sisters’.