My rock, my Rimbo

Sometime in 2009 I went to one of the first open mic shows in Khartoum. There I met two young and beautiful women, whom I now proudly call my best friends. This story is about one of them, her name is Reem.

When I first saw Reem I felt she was too giddy and cheerful. I was going through a cynical phase and I was right, this girl with the radiant smile had just moved to Sudan and has not witnessed much of the drama that accompanies life in this country.

We met again when I was going through an exploratory phase. This time, at a coffee shop after I saw her announcement on Facebook that the newspaper she was working for was hiring freelance writers for the Arts and Culture section. Little did I know that this was her own initiative, and I later found out she paid the freelancers from her own pocket after the newspapers stopped funding them.

She was a blogger too, and again, I later on found out I had been following her blog for years. I felt an immediate connection.

At the time I sat with her and we both sipped our lattes, I had never written professionally before. I voiced my hesitation to her, yet despite the fact that we didn't know each other very well she encouraged me to follow my passion. She gave me an outlet to do so. Week after week, she would bring me copies of the newspaper and show me my column. People were paying money for this newspaper and they were reading my words. It felt great. We instantly became friends.

Throughout the months that followed, we became so inseparable to the extent that my other then-best-friend used to get extremely jealous. She never liked her because she felt she was stealing me away from her, or something. Little by little I became so close to Reem and she introduced me to the world of freelance journalism. I made a name for myself and eventually pursued my dream, all thanks to her.

My other then-best-friend and I had a terrible falling out the following year. Because of many things. Reem was there for me every step of the way. She sensed how miserable I was and did everything in her power to support me. I got out of that ordeal stronger, all thanks to her.

I have never loved a friend as much as I love Reem. We have been through so much together. When she heard I was in trouble because of my activism 2 years ago, she stopped at nothing in her quest to protect me. She was also being targeted, but she never cared about her well being as much as she did mine. No friend has ever given me that before. I came out of it stronger than ever, all thanks to her.

I owe so much to Reem. The person I have become today; she played a big role in shaping me. She taught me many valuable lessons, among them is that nothing should stand in the way of my dreams. She also taught me that, in pursuit of justice, fear is not an option. I became fearless, all thanks to her.

She continues to teach me something new everyday.

I miss sipping tea with her by the Nile while talking about how useless boys are.

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