It was like a dream come true; I had found a girl just like me in many ways, yet also opposite in several ways. The differences between us didn't matter, though. They only pulled us closer together, along with our similarities. We were inseparable. We stayed the night at each other's houses constantly, we saw each other at school regularly, we trained together in ROTC, and we were on our high school's swim team together. Our friendship was beautiful, completely magical. We were so close that we even kissed each other on the cheek as though we were sisters, shared clothes, and held hands. It was great up until she disappeared. One day I woke up only to discover that my best friend was missing. I tried texting her, but I received no answer. I found her at school, but she wouldn't speak to me, much less look at me. It was like she bumped her head and completely forgot about me. I didn't know what I had done wrong to make her ignore me like this. I walked through my days lost, confused, and hurt, wondering why my other half had abandoned me. I soon discovered that my best friend had a boyfriend. She spent all of her waking moments with him, and paid attention to little else. She literally dropped me like I was hot and ran off with a guy. After a few weeks, she came to me crying because her boyfriend left her. I comforted her as best as I could and stood by her for the whopping two days that she spoke to me. Next thing I knew, she was gone again. She found a new boyfriend, and ditched me for him. This dating and crying on my shoulder in between relationships lasted for about a year, and then she completely ignored me throughout the full duration of her senior year. I was heartbroken and bitter. I didn't know why she chucked our close friendship just to date fifty guys before she graduated from high school. Her excuse was that she was extremely busy, but I knew that was a lie. During her senior year, I saw her all the time. She hung out with my other friends while I was right there hanging out with them. I was the only one she ignored. She has tried flitting in and out of my life during my senior year of high school, but she only hurts me more every time she tries to come back. Every time I see her, all I see is a stranger in place of the best friend I loved and cherished with all my heart. This stranger bewilders me because this stranger is only the physical appearance of my best friend; the fun, loving, caring spirit of my best friend is MIA. Our whole friendship is MIA, and I have given up on that close friendship ever returning. The irony of it all is that even though I know she is never returning to me as my best friend and that our close friendship is never going to arise again, I am still hopelessly waiting for my best friend gone MIA.