Friendship

My name‿ is Marta. I have hundreds‿ of‿ acquaintances│ and,│ I would say,│ three friends,│ an(d) the older‿ I get,│ the more convinced‿ I am that this‿ is normal rather than sad.

Anna and‿ I have been close│ since primary school. When my father was dying,│ she came without being‿ asked‿ an(d) stayed for four days. That‿ is the test,│ in my opinion:│ not what‿ a frien(d) says,│ but whether they appear│ when there‿ is nothing to gain. What we have‿ is reciprocal. I have‿ also ended‿ a friendship that had become superficial,│ and‿ although it was painful,│ I do not regret‿ it. I had begun to feel│ that I^{thad I} was being taken‿ advantage‿ of,│ an(d) loyalty should not mean being‿ available without limits.

The friendships‿ I have los(t) were not los(t) dramatically. Nobody betrayed‿ anybody;│ we simply drifted‿ apart│ after university,│ an(d) when we met‿ again there was nothing lef(t) to say. Two years‿ ago,│ an‿ ol(d) friend‿ apologised for something that had happened‿ in 2011,│ an(d) we reconciled‿ over‿ a coffee. I think the capacity to say sorry is what keeps the long friendships‿ alive.