I had a childhood friend but I never understood what happened until I was an adult.

We lived in the country about half a mile to a mile away from each other. We hung out all the time. Then she stopped walking to my house but I kept walking to hers.

She went bald and I didn’t think much of it. Soon after that her parents told me she couldn’t come out and play when I walked over. I eventually stopped walking over and her family moved.

I don’t know if she died or not but I remember not understanding why her parents didn’t want her to play with me anymore.

One day as an adult I was talking with some people about childhood friends and I started to tell a story about one girls shitty parents who wouldn’t let her play anymore… Then it hit. Oh. She couldn’t walk to my house anymore, she couldn’t play anymore, then they were gone.