Of death

It was an Arkwright thing to say, but also, a Shaun of the Dead thing to say. Which is nice, because I really love that film.

I was thinking today about my childhood friend who died in a car-crash.

We hadn't been close for some time - she was living with an older guy at 16, and working - I was still very much a schoolgirl. She wanted to be a model and I was snooty about it, not that we discussed it. Our lives had diverged from when we'd been pony-mad together and spending our summers riding. And I did that thing I always do of pushing off from people like I'm embarrassed they know me at all. Anyway, we hadn't been in touch for a good while.

But her death was such a shock. You always think you have time. I felt and feel a bit of a fraud because we weren't close anymore. But the death of someone so young and vibrant, with everything ahead of her. There's still a chasm in the world where she should be.

I don't honestly know how her parents kept living. How do you go on after that?