‘We didn’t speak the same language, but I knew she was my best friend’

Bestie, pal, kindred spirit. Whatever you call them, a good friend can change your life.

That’s why today, on the International Day of Friendship, we’re launching Soul Mates, a new Metro.co.uk weekly series, celebrating the power of friendship.

Each week, we’ll speak to someone about how they met a close friend. From being thrust together at school or work, to random encounters in unlikely places, friendship can blossom in all sorts of ways.

Want to share your own bff origin story? Email us at MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.

One of Gabriella Margo’s earliest memories is landing in Perth, Australia, aged just six. Her family, originally from Hungary, had emigrated to the other side of the world, ready to start a new chapter.

‘We moved in January,’ remembers Gabriella, now 38. ‘I’d left a freezing winter, and arrived in an Australian summer, and it was stiflingly hot.

‘But I was excited to be somewhere new. I loved eating watermelon and mangos – tropical fruits I’d never had before – and I adored swimming in the ocean. I can still remember that feeling now, it was magical.’

But when it came to starting school, Gabriella was terrified. School had been strict back home, and she was a shy child, who couldn’t speak English.

‘I knew three or four words at the most,’ says Gabriella. ‘I didn’t understand anything – I couldn’t even ask to go to the bathroom.’

But then, Gabriella met Natsumi. Like Gabriella, Natsumi, now 39, was also new to Australia, having emigrated with her family from Japan.

‘She couldn’t speak English either, so we were always put together in classes,’ Margo explains.

‘Despite not speaking the same language we found ways to communicate – there was a lot of pointing and following each other around.

‘I remember just being so relieved. This was the scariest thing that had ever happened to me, but with Natsumi, I knew I wasn’t alone. We were on the same path.

‘I just knew she was a safe person.’

The two girls spent a year together, and their English slowly improved.

‘I was so shy, but I had the confidence to speak and practice the language, because Natsumi was doing it too.

‘And of course, we still got up to mischief. I remember once sneaking into Natsumi’s parents bedroom and jumping up and down on their water bed until we broke it.’

But at the end of that year, the girls were separated. Natsumi’s family moved to Brisbane, and Gabriella’s moved to Sydney. Apart from one visit when they were around eight years old, they lost touch.

‘This was before social media or mobile phones,’ explains Gabriella.

And, life moved on. Gabriella soon became fluent in English and, after leaving school, decided she wanted to help others like her, becoming an English teacher for newly arrived migrant students.

‘A lot of children would come through who were Japanese, and they always reminded me of Natsumi. I was always so taken with them – they were so kind and polite – and it made me miss my old friend even more.’

Gabriella described Natsumi as ‘the one that got away.’.

‘I often wondered what happened to her and if she was doing okay. I would search for her every now and then on Facebook, but all I had was her name. I didn’t know where she lived, what she looked like, what she did for work or if she was even on social media at all.’

Then, a trip to Japan in 2018 inspired Gabriella to keep looking, and she started searching in earnest once more.

‘I messaged so many Natsumis,’ laughs Gabriella. ‘But it was always the wrong person.’

That is, until Gabriella came across an article about a Natsumi who was listed as a TV presenter and model.

‘She was the right age and I remember looking at the picture and feeling a glimmer of hope that it could be her so, I sent her a message.’

The next day, Gabriella got the reply she’d been searching for. ‘She wrote back and said, “Oh my god. Gabi? Gabi from Perth?”

‘My first feeling was relief. She was alive! And I’d found her! It turned out she was still living in Brisbane, but came to Sydney every few months for work – and had a trip planned for the week after I returned from Japan.’

The timing seemed like fate, and the pair arranged to meet for dinner.

‘I was nervous,’ says Gabi. ‘It was more than 25 years since we’d last seen each other and I worried we wouldn’t click as adults.

‘But the minute we met everything just fell into place. She was so bubbly and kind, and we just didn’t stop talking, catching up on each other’s lives. It was the first time we’d ever spoken when we could both speak English fluently.

‘Natsumi pointed out that now, as adults, we were having this loud, fast conversation in English with thick Aussie accents – so we’d come a long way from when we first met!

‘We stayed in the restaurant for hours.’

After that first meeting, the girls picked up where they left off, and have stayed friends ever since.

‘We have really similar personalities,’ explains Gabriella, who is now a writer.

‘We’re in touch all the time – texting and sending voice notes. We last saw each other in June, when Natsumi flew to Sydney to come to my book launch.

‘Natsumi is so warm and friendly, and every time I’m with her, we never stop laughing.

‘It might have taken me 25 years, but I’m so glad that I never stopped searching for her.’

Tulips from Mal, by Gabriella Margo, is out now.

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