The More Things Change

Ella-

How do you know when friends are growing apart?

Like the branches of a tree, like the petals of a flower, or like an animal family in the wild.

Do you notice it? Does your friend notice it? Or do other people notice it and tell you?

Nora-

I remember a day on the beach with Ella when we were 8 years old, playing and splashing in the waves. We were the best of friends, the type of girls you could never keep apart no matter how hard you tried.

But things have changed between us since then.

I don't know if it's that we're growing older, or that we aren't meant to be friends, but maybe it's because we aren't as similar to each other as we thought.

Or maybe the similarity between us is what annoys me and Ella the most about being friends.

Ella-

A couple months ago if someone asked me who my best friend was, I would have immediately said Nora. But now I'm not so sure.

I hang out with a lot of other girls now, and I haven't seen Nora in a while. Sometimes I miss her, but sometimes I wish we'd never been friends at all. Nora has done some pretty mean things to me in my life.

Like accidentally blurting out my crush to our entire class, accidentally spilling her smoothie all over me during lunchtime at school, getting a stain on my favourite dress that I'd lent her for a piano concert, and forgetting my birthday.

These were all accidents, but if we hadn't been friends they wouldn't have happened.

If we hadn't been friends she wouldn't have known my crush. If we hadn't been friends we wouldn't have sat beside each other during lunch. If we hadn't been friends I wouldn't have lent her my favourite dress. And If we hadn't been friends I wouldn't have been sad that she forgot my birthday.

Nora-

Ella was the brains and I was the strength. I didn't mind that she was smarter than me, and I doubt she minded that I was stronger than her.

It's not that I wasn't smart, or she wasn't strong, it was just that we were each better than the other at one of those things.

I miss Ella sometimes, but if we aren't meant to be friends then we aren't meant to be friends.

Ella-

I don't think I'll ever forget Nora even if we don't hang out anymore. We were such good friends, it still shocks me that we grew apart.

But I guess the Earth told us that we aren't meant to be friends anymore. So we will listen to the Earth.