I ghosted a friend after high school graduation. We’d been close at times, but it was never an easy or happy closeness. There’d always been some level of competitiveness and resentment.
Decades later, when Facebook came around, I saw her and apologized. I didn’t expect forgiveness, but I offered regret. She offered neither.
She leaned on her old dynamic—friendly banter lined with veiled insults. When I was a teenager, I didn’t understand what was happening, but I felt it. My vision would narrow, and I’d see myself as that shabby, undesirable object of pity. I’d walk away accepting my role as that person in her life. Graduation acted as my pardon.
I was probably in my late 20s before I learned how to read beyond the face value of words.
When I talked to her again, I understood much more but felt it less. That was our last conversation.
Inspired by Tom Pendergast’s post: “Letter to an Old Friend”