I did not like you at start. You seemed very foreign to me and I felt like you never wanted me to be here. You were harsh. You have exposed me to absolute realities I only heard and read about in the past. You showed me things that I ain't supposed to see. You lured me into your bait. You made me walk the streets of downtown alone in a cold winter night. You gave me the impression that you live and feed through the tears that fell from my eyes. I can hear you laugh at times when I cried myself to sleep. You screamed to my ear in a hollow voice, "Leave!" Your facade appeared so ghostly I wanted to run away from you.
Albeit, somehow, for the past five-and-a-half years that we have been chasing each other, there came a point when we finally came to terms and reached a truce. I learned to dance in your shadow without losing my own. I started to yell back at you, "Back off!" You knew so well when not to cross me. I lured you into my bait more than a couple of times. I got the maps of downtown tatooed on my head. The tears stopped from falling and you came to laugh with me. We realized that we both need each other. We found comfort in each other. You have been my home away from home.
By this time next week, I have moved already to Lebanon, Pennsylvania. It will be a new environment for me; a new place that I should be calling home for at least the next one-and-a-half years or so. I am uncertain as to how Lebanon will treat me. Will he be as fierce and tough as you? As cold as you? Will we eventually develop the kind of friendship that you and I share?
No matter what happens, you will always have a place in my heart, Toronto. I am praying that in the future, I will find my way back to you, and when that time comes, I hope you will recognize me as your long lost friend, and welcome me with open arms. Therefore, I am not bidding farewell to you but rather, au revoir, mon ami ! Promise me, you'll never let go.
Karen
~ I love you, Vince ~
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