“Fading Conversations”
The messages started slowing down a few months ago. At first, I didn’t think much of it. Life gets busy, people drift for a little while. But with Brianna, it felt different. Our conversations used to flow endlessly — no forced words, no empty pauses. It was effortless. But now, each text felt more like a struggle, like we were both trying to keep something alive that was already slipping away.
I sent her a message one evening, just a simple, “Hey, how’s everything going?” and waited, staring at my phone like I was expecting a miracle. A few hours passed, then a day, and finally, the reply came: “Good, just busy.”
Busy. That word stung more than I wanted to admit. We all say it, we all use it as a shield when we don’t want to admit the truth. Busy means “I’m pulling away,” but I wasn’t ready to hear it. Not from her. Not yet.
A week went by before I tried again. This time, I suggested we meet up, go to our usual spot by the river. We hadn’t been there in months, but it always felt like home. Her response came slower this time. “Maybe soon. I’ll let you know.”
But she never did.
Days turned into weeks, and soon I stopped trying. It became clear that whatever we had was quietly unraveling, and neither of us was brave enough to talk about it. It’s funny how the absence of words can speak louder than anything said aloud. Every day that passed without a message, every unanswered call, felt like a nail in the coffin of our friendship.
I found myself replaying old memories, trying to figure out where it went wrong. Was it something I said? Something I didn’t say? Or was it just one of those things that happens — the natural drifting apart that no one wants to admit?
Months later, I saw Brianna in a crowded café. She was sitting at a table, her eyes focused on the screen of her phone, laughing at something I couldn’t see. She didn’t notice me, and I didn’t make the effort to say hello. I just watched her from a distance, feeling like a stranger in her life.
There was no big argument, no final conversation where we put everything out on the table. We didn’t drift apart because of some grand misunderstanding or hurt feelings. We just… faded. Slowly, quietly, like the end of a song that you didn’t realize had stopped playing.
I guess that’s the way it is sometimes. Not all endings come with closure or a sense of resolution. Sometimes, they just happen. People grow apart, and life moves on without the conversations we thought we’d have. I didn’t get to ask her why we stopped being friends. She didn’t explain why she pulled away.
And in the end, maybe that was the hardest part — not the silence itself, but the quiet understanding that nothing lasts forever, not even the things you once thought were unbreakable.
Have you ever had a friendship or relationship fade away without any real reason? How do you handle those silent goodbyes? Share your thoughts in the comments. 👏🏽💬
