Today is my friend Richard’s birthday. I haven’t heard from him in a couple of years now, and I never found out what happened to him. One day he was doign some work with me and we were talking about what was going on, the next he wasn’t answering my emails and I couldn’t get a hold of him no matter what I did. He had been talking about his family moving over to Melbourne for a little while, so I sort of assumed that he moved with them and would resurface when he got settled.

He never did.

I tried looking for him (and his relations that I know the names of) online, and all I ended up finding were the odd profile pages for sites he had joined up on, but no mention of where he went. Given that he was one of my best friends during high school and we went through a lot together, I had just kind of assumed that he’d always be around, one way or another.

Today is one of those days where I cast my mind’s eye around the world and wonder what became of my friend. I wonder if he can hear me calling out to him. I wonder if one day he’ll call back, or just pop into my life. I miss him, and I hope that I can see him again one day.

So, wherever you are Richard – somewhere, somehow, I hope you can hear me wish you a Happy Birthday.