Korkor Chu,

I think it’s only fair to say that we both judged before getting to know each other. I’ve never really been a fan of that ‘don’t judge a book by its cover‘ line.  I have always believed it’s just another ploy from society to stop people from looking at the ‘superficial’ and drawing conclusions from them. In all honesty though, don’t we all do that? ‘What you see is what you get‘ has been a permanent resident in my mind and more often that not, it has turned out right. Your case was an exception and I am glad it turned out that way.

You were a part of my promotion and I remember us having the same schedule for French classes, even though we were in different groups. We both lived off-campus that year and would bump into each other often on the way to and from classes. Hence we were all new, we moved in small groups, mainly for security reasons and often for the ambiance. I was familiar with everyone in your circle, especially the boys, but you always looked uninterested in getting to know people. I wasn’t the only one who’d made that observation and we just held on to interacting and hanging out with your guys and a few of the girls. That year went by and we  met in many gatherings and parties, but each would stick to herself, even when one would catch the other stealing glances. A mutual friend of ours described it as the ‘war of the beauty queens’. We were both skinny and had a similar structure, attractive and almost walked in the same way. I dismissed his remark, blaming it all on the fact that we had never been introduced. I know it sounds silly for we could have done the introductions ourselves, but I still stick to that reasoning.

I woke up one day in our second year to find a Facebook message from you. I thought it was the usual requests I got from girls who wanted their hair braided. I was still curious, though, for it was unexpected, especially coming from you. In the message, you told me about a dream you’d had about the both of us… one contrary to the reality we lived. You described the beautiful friendship we had, gradually turning into a sisterhood, with bonds getting closer each day. You asked that we break the ice between us and become friends. It seemed funny at the time, for it sounded like a request for reconciliation when there had been no fight at all. I took you up on your request and we exchanged a string of messages getting to know each other. The beauty of it all was when we both acknowledged that we had judged each other and laughed over it. Eventually, our conversations moved to everyday life and I ended up getting tips on gaining weight from you. You insisted that I take all meals for each day and I agreed, knowing very well that it wouldn’t make any difference. I had an unstable system and my eating habits are the worst you’ll ever see. Sometimes I stay away from food like it were poison; other days I just can’t break the bond between my hand and my mouth. Anyway, I digress.

We haven’t really met again since our ‘reconciliation’, given that we both lived in different cities. We had quite a short spell when I came to your country this summer, as I was too busy with my course to hang out and have fun with you. We’re both back in Morocco now and I hope we’ll get to see more of each other. Otherwise, just get set to be my host when I finally finish saving for my pleasure trip to your country. I loved it there and will definitely go back if God wills.

I am not the best judge of character, and in your case, I was proven wrong. Where I thought you were stuck-up, unsmiling and totally arrogant, you actually turned out to be sweet. I know you’ve come to the same conclusion about me and realised just how different I am from what people claim to see (wink). I hope it served as much of a lesson to you as it did to me and that we both live to tell the stories to each other’s kids, turning your dream to reality. Meanwhile, I’m glad that you reached out despite our differences. It changed a lot!