Don't be a stranger.
Dear friend,
I am a bit homesick. I have been thinking a lot about a phrase that you said when we last called. You said: "don't be a stranger." Don't you think it's an interesting thing to say? It means 'goodbye' with the promise to not be a stranger.
To be a stranger implies a certain way of acting. A stranger does not call or text. A stranger does not smile at you with a familiar glint in their eyes when they walk by, or check in on you after a long day. In this way, a stranger can be someone who knows you, after all. They might even be someone who cares for you very much.
"Don't be a stranger," we say.
"Promise you'll call."
'Stranger' in Thai is 'คนแปลกหน้า'. It directly translates to 'someone with an unfamiliar face.' So perhaps "don't be a stranger" also contains within it a hope that the next time we see one another will not be so far away that I no longer recognise your face, or you mine.
What would it be like to be strangers, knowing that our lives once touched? How would it be, knowing that we once breathed the same air, that part of me is forever changed by you? That part of me refuses to accept that I could one day forget your face-- that in this lifetime, there may be a day when you will no longer call or text or smile at me with a familiar glint in your eye.
But while we are not strangers, I am glad to know your face. I am content knowing that if we one day became strangers, I would be less lonely in a crowd because I'd know that one of the unfamiliar faces might be yours.
I miss you, friend. Don't be a stranger.
Love,
pongles