By Aiman Umme
We were more than just roommates.
I still remember the day I first moved in.
We danced and laughed all night,
celebrating our trio,
planning trips that we never took.
Although we met on a plane’s jump seat,
we certainly were more than just roommates.
We were girlies together
trading cute tops for blue jeans,
moon bag for a tote bag,
lip shade for a nail paint.
You taught me how to braid my hair like yours,
and I taught you how to paint
although it turned out to be a disaster.
We swore we’d never lose each other.
Nonetheless, time came and went,
and we grew up and out of each other,
taking us to different corners of life and priorities.
Our laughs turned into phone calls,
and then to none at all.
The girl I shared every secret with
became a distant memory,
a name in my phone I never pressed.
Now, if you still remember
the nights we sat on our balcony
complaining and gossiping about our day,
dreaming of lives we thought we’d grow into together
not knowing it was the last time
life would feel that simple.
I wonder if you still hum the song
that played on repeat on our speaker
like a thousand times over
our laugh at the inside jokes
no one else would ever get.
Buying treats
and clicking pictures for each other
made us inseparable.
Do you remember
we used to talk about buying stuff for winters?
Because here I am
but you’re not beside me.
And maybe life just works that way:
people growing up
and growing apart.
And now, when I see another cheerful trio
like us at the market,
I still hope
they haven’t shared as many memories and laughs
like we did
'cause we were like hot chocolate
on a chilly day.
I don’t know why it hurts more than a heartbreak.
Maybe it hurts
because we were more than just roommates
where we thought
time would always stand still.