• When we were twelve, Carissa and I were sitting in the food court at the mall when she told me that she was moving to California. She would be leaving tomorrow and this would be the last time that we would see each other for a long time. We decided then that we would meet at this exact table in twenty years, no matter what happened.
    The next day Carissa left and I had to get used to her not being in my life anymore. For the next couple of years we kept in touch a lot, but after that we lost contact.
    After twelve years, when I was 24, I got married. By this time I had become a seventh grade teacher. To be able to get a better job and to live in a warmer climate we moved to Florida. By the time I was thirty, we had a daughter and a son.
    For the next six years Carissa and I didn’t talk at all. But then, it was finally the week before we were supposed to meet. My family and I flew back to Lancaster a week early so that we could have a short family vacation.
    It was an hour before we were supposed to meet. I left the hotel and drove over to the mall. I shopped for about thirty minutes. Then I went to the food court and sat down at the same table. The mall looked a lot different than it had twenty years before.
    Many people walked through the food court in the next five minutes, but none of them were Carissa. I was scared that Carissa would not be able to recognize me because I had changed a lot throughout the twenty years. I was also scared that I would not be able to recognize her because she might have changed a lot, too.
    It was now ten minutes after our meeting time and Carissa still wasn’t there. I was very nervous. My whole body was shaking; my heart was racing one hundred miles a minute. I felt like I was having a heart attack.
    Then, a girl walked past my table and she looked exactly like I had pictured Carissa looking. I went up to her and asked her what her name was. She said that her name was Amber. “Oh,” I said, “I thought you were my friend that I was looking for.”
    “What’s your friend’s name?” asked Amber.
    “Carissa,” I answered.
    “Sarah?” cried Amber.
    “Yes,” I answered, confused.
    “I am Carissa’s sister. I found a note that she was supposed to meet you here today,” Amber told me.
    “You found a note? Why did you come and she didn’t?” I asked her.
    “Carissa died five years ago because she had cancer. I’m here because she put into the note that she was supposed to meet you here no matter what,” Amber answered.
    “Oh, so she’s still here in spirit even though she’s not in person.” I said.
    “Yes,” said Amber, “I guess I kind of count because I’m related to her.”
    “Yes, you do.” I said. “By the way, I’m not really Sarah, either. I’m her sister. Sarah also died of cancer five years ago.”