Coming Together: Special Memorial Edition

Excerpt:
The internet is a wonderful, terrible place to make friends. Some of us, shy or just in need of a break from 'real-world' intimacy, come here believing we can enjoy the special people we meet without being vulnerable to them. Then someone like Colly proves us wrong.

My first post in the Literotica® Author's Hangout was in response to something Colly wrote in a political thread. I wouldn't have bothered, if I hadn't admired the way she expressed herself. I didn't expect to like her; it was impossible not to. Colly's toughest weapon was her abiding grace and generosity. Nothing defuses a heated feud like a sneak-attack hug that arrives out of nowhere when you're having a lousy day.

We didn't share much about our personal lives, except for the parts we had in common: Southern small-town families; the challenge of balancing love and loyalty with seemingly unbridgeable ideological differences. It would be easy to say I wasn't close to Colly, if not for the fact that she was so often the first person to welcome me back after an absence or offer her support when she knew I was facing a difficult time.

All things considered, I have to say she was a real friend. The hugs and grins and roses were real, too. The illusion was that I could control how much I cared.

I'll miss you, Colly.