Holding up The Wall

My friend's father had a saying. Whenever I visited I would hear, "Come sit down. Why are you standing over there? Are you holding up the wall?"

Yes. I am holding up The Wall; that's the nature of friendship. I stand here and hold up The Wall, knowing that when I need support, The Wall will always be there for me to lean on. In turn, through borer and dryrot and termites - everything that tries to destroy The Wall - I will be there with love and bugspray. The Wall will remain intact so long as I have the power to hold it up.

Then there are the good times, when happiness and excitement are multiplied by being shared. I can let my pleasure bounce off The Wall until we're both bouncing off the walls. Certificates framed on The Wall scream my success for the world to see, "I'm proud of you." The Wall never forgets, each wonderful moment is a framed photograph in time. The mirror also hanging on The Wall shows me myself in a more flattering light; holding the truth until such time as I'm ready to accept it.

I could paint or wallpaper The Wall, but why bother? Why hide ‘imperfections' from my eyes when every knot gives woodgrain its beauty. Each nail hole, each patch of peeling varnish, each splinter in my hands, is a memory of experiences past, what we've gained or what we've lost. Even now, I can lean on The Wall when I do not have the strength to stand alone. In turn, I can act as a structural support by holding up The Wall, as my friend's father so rightly said.

A coming earthquake may threaten lives and houses, danger to us both. Once the danger has passed and the rest of the house has fallen down, The Wall and I will still be here. Unfortunately we may be half buried in rubble but we'll still be alive, still together, still holding each other up.


I confess, I simply couldn't resist writing this. Since my friends username is TheWall http://www.fanfiction.net/u/522333/ and thewall, I just had to have a play with words.