Faded Friendships

Just when does it happen,this slow dissolving into a blur- of that one friend you'd vowed never to leave? Does it happen when, despite all your disappointments she's unable to make it to the most joyous occasion in your life- your wedding? Or does it happen much before that, when you've just started seeing Mr Perfect and you think she won't understand, think you to be too young for a serious relationship at 23? Or does it happen even further down the road, when your choice of career forces you to travel halfway round the country, and in that new found life of independence, staying up all night and making your own decisions, she seems like the outsider? Or had it started happening even when you were together, her insistence on doing things her way, proving to be her undoing? You gather all those memories of the good times in your head as you try to re-establish contact with her. A random search on google & Facebook brings you her email id. You pick your words carefully, lest it seem patronising, or worse, dictatorial. With trepidation you hit the send button. And wait for those faded colours to become sharp again.