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Marina

A weekend of farewells

By Thomas Feng

September 19^th, 2016

Dear marina,

“I DON’T WANT TO LEAVE MELBOURNE. THIS YEAR HASN’T BEEN REAL; IT HAS BEEN AN ABSOLUTE DREAM AND I DON’T WANT TO GO BACK.”

You were leaving in two days and we were dancing our bodies away to Japanese Wallpaper after you had work. You hugged Beci and I both so very tight and brought our spirits up before Beci had to go. You were so tired but so determined to have a great time because you had less than 48 hours left in this city. We danced endlessly all night and afterwards we met Gabe the babe aka Japanese Wallpaper as you brushed shoulders with Gretta Ray.

In essence, it was a blur like so much of our friendship.

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Marina

When you spend a year in Melbourne, a liberal-minded, creative, vibrant city 17 300 kilometres away from where you have grown up and lived in Madrid, underneath the tourist facade is a breath-taking realm a whole world away.

And I suppose that you spent so much time immersed in this space that the space became you. You had become so much more open-minded, accepting, challenging, appreciative with your beliefs and in the way that you see people. You had never felt such strong connections with so many people and I always admired your ability to do that with everyone you spent time with.

When we first decided to be housemates, you were just the cool person in my Behavioural Economics class and I was just the person who wore overalls and we were just friends by convenience because we were in the same lectures and same tutorials.

We had no idea who we really were.

Upon numerous unplanned weekend hangouts, midnight catch-ups in each other’s rooms and being there for each other when we felt at our worst, I think we learned that in so many ways we were similar: easy-going, honest, curious, intuitive, reflective, interested in understanding people, over-thinkers, free-spirited. We were just two beings whose friendship revolved around a deep understanding of each other and our vulnerabilities and making each other better people.

Marina

After the gig at 12.45am, I scoffed down some Lord of the Fries and we walked home. We were both tired and worn down, but we spoke about how we pushed our comfort zones this year and how it had been confronting yet so rewarding.

You were worried about coming back to Madrid and going back to “life as normal”. And I remember thinking about how we change as people so quickly in our twenties because experiences like university and the search for connection and ourselves happen mean that a year spent in Melbourne deconstruct the concept of “life as normal’.

We were home at 1.30am and awake at 2.45am talking on milk crates about love and how beautiful it was in all of its forms.

“I can tell that you and Beci have something really special and that it has only gotten stronger over time. The looks in both your eyes and her eyes when you’re together say that you will always be there for each other.”

Those words and that whole conversation resonated with me so greatly. The way you spoke about the people you love and the relationships you have been fortunate to have here was so beautifully honest and I realised how truly strong and resilient you had become.

Marina

The next night we were tipsy on Sydney Rd eating Domino’s garlic bread with Pedro. When we arrived home, we ate chocolate with Courtney and we listened to Pedro’s crazy adventures in Western Australia. I could have listened to those stories endlessly and I was so grateful for the times we had all spent together whilst Pedro was living on the couch in the lounge room singing songs or playing guitar and chatting.

I came home the next day from work to say goodbye and as soon as I saw you I could tell that reality had struck you. As you squeezed as much of a year of your life as you could into a couple of oversized suitcases and despite having to leave so many things behind, I knew that the most important thing throughout the year was that you had changed and you had become a better person and that I had been so lucky to have been blessed to have had you as a housemate and dear friend.

You had become a butterfly with wings of steel and a heart full of gold.

We embraced for a long time, blasted “Shake It Out” by Florence & the Machine and danced in the lounge room until it was time for you to go.

Thank you Marina for coming into my life and thank you for being the dearest of friends. I know that you are 17 300 kilometres away but we will always be close. It has been a strange few weeks without you and Courtney and I miss you dearly.

See you in Madrid. I love you a whole heap,

Thomas

Marina

© 2026 Thomas Feng

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