two friends

I visited my friend in another part of Australia. She was welcoming but I sensed a distance. Her partner appeared and hinted that my friend had changed, she said she was a ‘bad girl’. I asked why she was bad, what she had been doing. She answered that she was taking drugs and they laughed. I not only felt the distance but a separation that comes with someone who you think you know suddenly being someone that you no longer recognise. Another close mutual friend appeared and I felt relieved. I turned my attention to her. She was lovely but our interaction was strained. The first friend took my hand as we walked down a road, walking with our mutual friend leading the way. I began to sing a song about young friendship, and they both joined in. The leader friend sang in a particularly clever and tuneful way. I asked her if she had the gift of mimicry and she said that she didn’t. I felt awkward as though my question may have offended her, although I felt great admiration and love. The first friend again took my hand, urging me away. We walked back to her house where she expressed her disappointment about how she and our mutual friend now related. I felt torn between the two.