Literally, yes. Kiira became a sister to me. She became my flatmate through some other acquaintances. We only spoke through the phone once and after the interview, I decided to rent her one of the rooms at my apartment. One of the best choices I made with my gut. The night before she arrived, I made brownies and wanted her to feel at home because I knew how it felt to arrive at a new place for a long time. I picked her up halfway down our street and helped her carry one of her bags, it was so damn heavy. The weather was really windy, cold, and grey, so we both had our huge winter jackets. We both looked like penguins. She was starving and craving pho, so I took her to one of my favorite places. My first impression was that she was extremely open and
gorgeous. I really thought: “Am I having a crush… on her? Oh, no, not again with the flatmates. LOL.”

            I had promised to be the best tour guide around Budapest, so we went on a very long walk. One of the reasons was that I was very distracted and zooming out, so I got us lost a couple of times.

“How long did you say that you had lived here?” She asked me.

“Um, around a year and a half,” I responded, embarrassed.

          We went to see the Parliament and she was very impressed by the beauty of the city, as well as the start of her new life. I told her about my past experiences and how much fun my first semester had been and all the rest of the places that we had to visit together. It was the start of a great friendship. I made her try the typical Hungarian dessert, a sweet bread called chimney cake filled with Nutella. Kiira is a very curious person, extremely talkative and extroverted, which I deeply appreciated. It felt like she was Latin and not Finnish.

            Nevertheless, since I was at war with myself, I didn’t really hang out in the beginning because I felt like I didn’t
have anything to offer. I would decline at every offer of us going out and meeting new people. She was very supportive and understanding, she really listened. After some time, our second flatmate joined, her name was Ada and she
was also Finnish. We were a funny trio. Once, we went to a stand-up comedy and were sitting in the front row, so this guy asked us in the order of our chairs:

“Where are you girls from?”

“Finland, Mexico, and Finland.”

“JA! You guys are like a funny sandwich,” he pointed at us and yelled, “NO EMOTION! TOO MUCH EMOTION! NO EMOTION!”

I thought that was hilarious.

            I really admire Kiira because she has such a big heart and is very caring and giving. She was studying Speech Therapy and Special Needs Education. She would make a delicious chocolate cake without butter. Ufff, I still dream about it.

            We started to learn that we were the
exact same edgy teenager when growing up, which was very funny due to our cultural and age differences. We talked so much about New York and artists, especially because we both had loved Just Kids by Patti Smith and
promised to travel there together once. I made her get a Soul music vinyl and we talked about our experiences and books that we had read during our adolescence.

“So, I used to be a big fan of The Fault in Our Stars.” She said.

“Oh my god, me too. I was traumatized by blowjobs after reading Looking For Alaska.”

“Jjaajaj, you’re crazy.”

“Yeah, I also dyed my hair pink.”

“Shut up! Me too!”

“No way, did you also get very moody while listening to Lana Del Rey?”

“Bitch, obviously. I also had a “poetic journal”, which I cringe at too badly now when I read it.”

“Oh, those are the best.”  

            When my mom came around, I loved that Kiira was around because I didn’t have a lot to talk about, so they got along great. I would be a viewer the whole time, completely mute. If there had been a secret camera doing zoom-ins like in The Office, it would have been hilarious. We went to Thermal Baths and dinner, as well as to the Opera, where on the way there, I got them lost again. Oopsie.  Maybe don’t trust me with locations.

            On our last month together, we had such an amazing time. We became besties. We went 80’s disco roller skating and busted our asses off. We went to gay clubs and danced like crazy. We used to get ready together listening to Afro beats, especially It’s Plenty from Burna Boy, doing crazy Euphoria make-up before going to boat parties on Sundays. We made all kinds of food together, sipping wine and drinking cigarettes on our balcony, having truly meaningful and deep conversations. We went to our favorite bar, Szimpla, on Tuesdays and almost the whole week, and had random conversations with strangers. We really loved to dance.

            Her mom was the cutest ever. I introduced them to one of my favorite restaurants, Mitzi, a hipster handmade pasta place that also happened to serve delicious red wine. We had a wonderful conversation, and she also pushed me to leave. They both felt like fresh air and a safe place, like the comfort that I had been looking for. They were also very excited when I made them Chilaquiles for breakfast and invited them on a private tour to Mexico, just as long as I wasn’t guiding them to the locations.

            The mornings were the best, we did yoga or Chloe Ting, and went straight with our coffee and yogurt bowl to sunbathe with our bras out on the balcony. This was around May, before that, the fucking sun didn’t exist there. We always had popcorn while we watched Fleabag, and did our groceries together. We went to watch After Sun at a small old movie theater and had a beer inside. We will never be able to listen Under Pressure from Queen the same. Nevertheless, the song that will be stuck with me
forever next to my memory of her is Stand By Me by Ben E. King. We were both super moody and weird, so we decided to go on a hike to Buda Hill. There was a lovely sunset. We had our private spot with the best view of the city and she started to mumble the song. I told her that that was my dad’s favorite movie and that she had to watch it. I played the song on my phone and we were singing it to the top of our lungs, hugging and crying. It was such a wonderful and emotional moment. That day, we made a collaborative playlist on Spotify and danced like wild women in our living room, showing songs from our countries.

            I realized she was a very resilient person every single time that we spoke, but one specific afternoon, I really felt what she was feeling. We had ice cream and sat down in front of the Church next to our place.

“I just feel like no one here appreciates me like I’m too much. I hate how conservative some people are.”

“I get it completely. You’re not too much. You are perfect. People here are weird, I don’t get them sometimes. They are always in a bad mood and are unable to appreciate the little things.” She started to cry and I cried with her, we hugged.

“Right? I
feel like I’m crazy. When I’m positive and appreciate the blue skies, they look down on me.” She said while wiping her tears away.

“Girly, don’t trip about it. Literally, it’s not you, it’s them. It’s okay if we’re the loud
crazy bitches.”

            We had another lovely day when we went to the cemetery. It was extremely peaceful and green. We sat down on a blanket and a ladybug landed on her hand. Lucky. I did a photoshoot for her and I almost cried because I knew how much I was going to miss her. She had such a pretty and bright smile.

            So, Kiira, if you are reading this just know that I love you, in a friendly way, obviously. I deeply appreciate all your support during my weird phase and your gorgeous energy. I really am expecting you to love New Year’s in Mexico. I’m so grateful to have been able to live with you for six months and have a reliable and lovely friend like you. Happy birthday, girly.