High school friend’s suicide continues to haunt him

“We met in high school. I had him in a couple classes, and we just started talking. Before long, we became real good friends. We would hang out together, usually riding around on our bicycles or playing video games. It was the ‘80s. If you didn’t have a car, that’s about all there was to do.

“Well, I didn’t see him at school for a few days. His mother worked there. So when I finally saw her, that’s when she told me. He committed suicide. He used a shotgun.

“It was about a girl, of all things. You know how people get so wrapped up in a boy or a girl, then they break up. When you’re so young, it can be pretty traumatic. Or, at least, you think it is. But at that age — he was only about 16 — you really don’t know anything.

“When you’re close to somebody like he and I were, it’s just difficult to comprehend why they would take their own life. It was pretty hard for me for a good while. It put me in this real low place. I kept thinking that if only he would have said something like, ‘Hey, I’m going through this. Do you think you can help me?’ But I guess some people don’t realize that their friends and others are willing to help. So when they’re going something and decide to keep it to themselves, then it’s too late.”

— Richard Vargas