Recently I've been reading a novel called "In search of lost time" written in French and translated into English. I have to admit that the novel is very difficult for there are thousands of unknown words and I feel like I'm drowning in it. Reading this novel is really a slow going, I have to look those new words up through online dictionary and understand them by using my imagination. Well, that's probably why it's called literature. I still enjoy my reading, though, for I've felt exactly the same thing just as the author had written in the novel.

Imagine that it is nearly midnight, time to go to sleep. Before you fall asleep, you lay in bed silently in the darkness, recalling all those old memories in your earlier stage of live.You think of someone you used to love or hate, something bad or good you had done. The instantaneous flashs of the past keep appearing and lingering in your mind. You'll revisit the places you used to live and you'll talk to those people who used to be your firends. Then you ask yourself what you would do, if you had the chance to turn back times. And I recalled one of my old friends, a classmate of high school. We used to be good firends, we shore everything--happiness, sadness, excitement and depression--one of the best times in my life.

Then he went back to his hometown-Zhuhai to finish his high school and then went abroad to study for 4-5 years. The last time he called me was several years ago while I was a sophomore. He sent me some of his photos, and we also talked about our love journeys. I was having a very difficult time at that time and he tried to comfort me and said he was always on my side as a best friend. Then we promised to keep in touch ever since.

If I had written him regularly, I wouldn't have lost touch with him. However, that's what life really is. You never notice until you really lose someone important in your life.One day, all of a sudden, I dreamt about him and the old time while we were still in high school, I realized how long we hadn't contacted each other. The worse thing I found was I had changed all my phone numebrs and Email address, which made him unable to contact me. I tried to send him a message through the Email he had given me before. But the system told me the email had failed to be delivered, which meant he had also changed his Email address. Then I realized we almost lost touch with each other completely.  

The silver lining was I still had the number of his parents. That's the only number I have, the only possibility to get hold of him. I called the number several months ago and it was his father who picked up the phone. I explained I was a friend of his son and asked for my friend's number from him. His father was very catious on the other side of the phone. I thought he must have thought me as a suspicious stranger. He's right.If I were in his shoes, I would have the same feeling. He said he didn't know his son's number. Can you believe this? A father doesn't know his son's number. Or let's say I was too suspicious to make him trust me. Then I said nothing, but "thank you" and hung up the phone.

After all, eight years have passed since our last conversation. Everything has been changed and we're no longer what we used to be. I have no right to force someone to remember me immediately after this long time. I should probably call his parents again and leave my phone number so that his parents can relief.

I don't know wether I can still get through to him or not. But from the bottom of my heart I hope everyting is alright in his life, hope someday I can still find this long lost friendship back.