Sharada

In the halls of friendship: a special feature, a friend of the family: Sharada. Her birth was in a country of war; what was once the beautiful land of poetry became a zone of despair and death. When we met I was 19: my first job in catering, I was a waitress for nearly 10 years after the first time I rolled into her family's business. My sister Jacqueline worked in the lunchroom first, then my brother Sacha followed, even an old childhood friend and next-door neighbour Agnes started working for Sharada's father. Sharada's sister Emagine had a sister-location where Sacha later switched working at, and Emagine's husband seem to hold the same position as Sharada as account managers in the lunchroom: it is a proven fact women are better in leadership roles. Although at the time I did not realize her struggle with generational trauma and our age difference tells us that we cannot compare our lives but we have dealth with narsistic family members and internalized misogyny, playing the role of the black sheep and the scape goat. To me, Sharada is more than a friend, she is family.