YOUR SECRETS FIND A HOME • YOUR JOURNEY IS PRIVATE • YOUR WORDS ARE SAFE • YOUR SECRETS FIND A HOME • YOUR JOURNEY IS PRIVATE • YOUR WORDS ARE SAFE • YOUR SECRETS FIND A HOME • YOUR JOURNEY IS PRIVATE • YOUR WORDS ARE SAFE • YOUR SECRETS FIND A HOME • YOUR JOURNEY IS PRIVATE • YOUR WORDS ARE SAFE •
The BondFriendship

My closest friend has slowly removed me from the group without ever saying why

Dear Delyara, There are six of us who have been friends since university. Over the last year, invitations began happening without me. First a dinner I learned about afterward. Then a weekend trip I was told had “just come together.” Last month, I saw photographs from a birthday where every person from our group was there except me. I asked my closest friend, Maya, directly. She said nothing dramatic had happened, only that “the energy has changed” and some people find me intense lately. I have been going through a divorce. I know I have talked about it too much. I know I have been sad at dinners and cancelled plans. Still, I thought friendship had enough room for one ugly year. What hurts is the gradualness. Nobody ended anything. They simply kept arranging rooms where my chair was no longer needed. Maya still texts me privately. She sends hearts, asks how I am, says we should catch up soon. I cannot decide whether that kindness makes it better or crueler. I would almost prefer one honest argument to discovering that twelve years of friendship can be reduced by logistics until the excluded person is expected to notice politely.

ANONYMOUS