Throwback to that one time we almost started our friendship a couple weeks sooner. I texted you—what my poor memory can only imagine was something like:
“sup? in the hospital. crippling pain ‘cuz of pa(i)ncreatitis and suddenly wondering why they don’t actually spell it with an ‘i’ to give it a proper definition through a literal lens. hbu?”
You replied, “well I lost my dog.”
And f*ck—suddenly my pain felt a lot less relevant, knowing you had it worse.
It’s wild knowing she and I just missed meeting each other. I bet Marty & Mika (M&M) would’ve been quite the entertaining duo. From what I do know of Mika, she left her mark on all of us. I see it in the way you talk about her—and all your chosen fam do too. Trust falls and all.
And while she keeps chasing squirrels into the trees (that we can only hope doggy heaven holds plenty of), just know I’m here for your trust falls, through and through. But if you’re ever planning to test them in a literal sense, you better triple-confirm that my attention is locked in—because you know how easily distracted I could be, even by a falling leaf. Just like Mika would’ve been if a squirrel ran by.
Although “good grief” might feel like an oxymoron—like it’s impossible to feel the “good”—I’ll try to point out at least one that might wipe away some of the hurt, even if only temporarily. Kind of like those Oxy wipes that got rid of pimples… until they inevitably came back. (Admittedly, that’s my worst line in here, but it felt funny. Might delete later.. Lolz.)
Here’s the full-circle moment I hope shifts at least some of the sadness into the slightest smile:
You probably don’t remember, but around this time last year, I sent you Emily’s For the Grieving poem (see cover photo screenshot). And yes, scrolling through our entire Insta DM history was a total time suck, but absolutely worth it for the picture proof.
Not too long ago, an entire team of us found ourselves in the most perfect March Madness cabin, collectively sobbing as we read through all of Emily’s poems one-by-one. Fast forward: Only Humxn now has an original piece by Emily—the first collab of its kind. One that perfectly intertwines your original Stay; campaign with everything we know about the love between friends. And it went out into the world during Mental Health Month.
You’re going to feel sad today. I know that. Let it pour—because only the best storms are followed by a rainbow. And hey, we’re only eight days away from Pride Month.
So to tie this all up in a beautiful bow, in Emily’s words:
“I’ll [forever] keep reminding you, I’m here and I love you and I’m sorry.”
Emily is a best friend of a best friend.
And I love that Mika is exactly that to me.
FULL F*CKN CIRCLE.
Hawaiian Princess Pieces 