I was asked once in 2019 what my favorite Katy Perry song is. The person that asked me was the woman I was dating at that time in my life. My reply was “The one that got away”. Immediately I was asked why that song and who was the one that got away. I just replied at that time I like the lyrics and the music video is excellent

Now almost 6 years later while driving form a museum in Weston Super Mare in the UK where I now live I started thinking. I realised that I actually have three that got away.

The first was Ida-Marie E: my first crush, gymnast cute smile with dimples, she did floor and balance beam. He father was an elder in our church when I was growing up in South Africa.Her brother was two years older than I was. When we moved I lost contact. I visited her once when I was doing my National Service and after that I haven’t spoken or contacted her again. Every now and then I wonder where she is and what happened with her life. Is she happily married? Kids? Is she still involved in gymnastics or has her life gone off on a different tangient.

The second is Lize R: She was my first female friend. Her father was a minister and they lived a few houses down from us. I remember I was invited to her grandparents who lived in a mining town called Westonaria. We lay in the back of her dad’s Nissan 1400 pick-up and talked all the way there and back. We arrive in time for lunch and her gran was making liver. Me being a townie and never even having eaten liver in my life said I don’t eat liver. Her gran made me lamb chops. I don’t remember if I ever thanked her. We sort off lost touch when we moved we did speak from time to time but when I went into the military we lost touch. I remember my mom telling me in the late 90’s she ran into her mom. Lize I want you to know that I still remember your birthday simply because it was my parents’ home phone number otherwise I would most probably have forgotten that as well a long time ago.

The Third is Lydia S: We met when I was working in the ER of the provincial hospital in the town where I was stationed. She was a 2nd year nursing student as was the practise we would work in civilian dress just to avoid us from being identified as military staff, as if the military hair cuts would not have betrayed us anyways. When I spoke to her the first tim eshe adressed me as doctor after explaining who and what I was we started talking. I took her onto the roof of the hospital to show her the lights and when we came down after about an hour the staff in the military ward thought a lot more happened. I can with a clean conscoious say that we just talked. He father ironically was a minister and she once introduced me to her brother. I was 23 and not yet ready to settle down, I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I did settle down with her. How my life would have turned out.

Every one of these women left a mark on my life and of friendship, of knowing how it feels to have unrequited love and the joy of a stimulating conversation.

I do not know where they are. I just hope life treated them well and that they have achieved success in their endevours.

To each of them I want to say thank you for allowing me to enter your life for how short it may have been.