The world becomes a small place to live when you make friends from cross-country and continents. I had the same experience. It was amazing one of the best in my life. My mind always drifted to Africa which many people term as the Dark Continent but I do not think it is true. I admired the African candor their knowledge their guileless attitude and their curiosity to know about the world. I was attracted to their culture since my college days when I read the American Literature. I came to know about their backgrounds, culture, dress code, and status of women in those days. Most fascinating was the wild life preservation that they are doing since eternal times. You should watch the documentaries made on Kalahari and Masaimara National parks. Strangest from the strange creatures would welcome you in their abode.

African-Americans follow different religions. Some of them are Jewish Christians and Muslims. Like normal people, they worship their Gods and live in peace and harmony. Why did I use the term "normal"? It is because other races look at them differently. It is because of the color that the disparity exists but I do not care for it. I admire Africa and its citizens. I am so glad that I have a young African boy as my closest friend in the world. His name is Aliyy Oke. Popularly known as Abussaif among his pals and family he is a techno freak and studies computer science as his passion. I came to know him through one of the article submitting websites and soon we began to communicate regularly. I began to admire his friendship.

I did not know how to pronounce his name but it did not matter. I was jumping up and down with glee as my dream of befriending an African boy came true. It was my ardent wish to visit this continent for a month and now I had an excellent opportunity of exploring on virtual basis. I began to ask him questions and inhaled lot of information that I felt curious about. He was soft-spoken, intelligent and when I saw his face, I realized that they Africans have a beautiful skin-tone. A bit of a brown and black with curly hairs, Aliyy had striking features. I stared at him and could not take my eyes off.

My friend belonged to Islam and I am a Hindu. My instinct at first was to set a limit between us but then I thought, why should we bring such differences in our friendship? I must let it go and relax myself. We talked about several things. He was in school and wanted to start his own website and do the marketing stuff. I was a literary scholar and bombarded him with Shakespearean stuff. We discussed philosophies, science, education, love, and our passion for wildlife. He had a great sense of humor and talked in a measured speech. Unlike other boys who start to flirt and chase the girls of our age he had strong limits and did not spoke a single word that seemed way less. This trait made me to love him more and I started to wait for his calls and messages.

Then he called me on Skype and on cell phone. I was thrilled at the sound of his voice. He spoke so fast I could hardly grasp but it had an undercurrent of affection. As perceived, his voice was filled with curiosity love and affection for me. It was the first time in my life that I received a call from seven seas afar. I have friends living in different regions of the world but Africa was my dream spirit. Aliyy lived in Nigeria in Oyo-Oyo state filled with lush green forests and beautiful surroundings. I saw him on the video call and was pleasantly surprised to find that he fitted in the picture of an "African Prince". He was tall and thin and had little beard as every Isl? Mic men has. His eyes glinted with happiness and perfect white teeth. I felt giddily buoyant and talked with enthusiasm.

We did not chat for days sometimes but it did not bother us. When you love someone and trust him or her, you will not stick to that person for 24/7. They need their personal space he had tonnes of work to do. Moreover, I was busy too. We continued our friendship as it blossomed to new heights every day. Like normal people, we faced our vicissitudes. I am a little hotheaded and easily blown off by temper and it resulted in big fights. He knew my problem so he handled in a way only a best friend could. To my surprise, I was easily placated. I would fight with him, talk with him, chat, and share knowledge and I could not live without him.

We are best friends and best mates any human can become. He loved me and I loved him. We understood each other perfectly and even if the bad times came, Aliyy took the oars and balanced our boat.

I missed him when we fought. His name weaved some magic on me. I knew this was the symbol of everlasting bond. Even if we never meet on these lands, he will always stay in my heart.