I remember crying once when a friend of mine did not invite me to his birthday party. The thing is I thought we were really close, with us going a long way back. He invited his new friends to his house. Questions kept circling around my mind on why he did it.

At that time, I did think of myself as being overly dramatic. “Maybe he had a reason why he did not extend the invitation to me.” A day passed and I asked him about it after I confided my feelings to another friend. He said he was sorry. He told me his mom was even looking for me. That consoled me a little bit at that time but looking back now, he probably did not want me there, only saying those things because he did not know how to break a friendship.

My definition of friendship is how long we spent time together. If I have known you since we were little, then I am comfortable around you. I will trust you. What I did not take into account is how he probably viewed our friendship in a different way. When I thought we were close, he may have just thought of me as someone he’s accustomed to. His new-found friends fit him more. They enjoy the same activities. When we were young, we only knew a few people. For me, he’s one of those people that I knew before and want to keep in my life. However, that’s not what he wants. We barely talk now, greeting each other on holidays and nothing else. Maybe that’s just the way it is.

Like any friendship, ours cannot be maintained if only one wants it. I still smile when I see his posts on social media. I can only wonder how he has been. I hope he always has a smile on his face. If not, I hope he has someone to be there for him when times get rough. - Naomi Villanueva