And Then They Were Gone

Over the years that I’ve made friends with people around the world via the internet, there’s one thing that I’ve seen again and again that has perplexed me. You can be in the middle of forging what you might think is going to be a wonderful friendship with somebody - you’ve got to know them a little, they’ve got to know you a little - you’ve shared each other’s stories, experiences, hopes, and dreams - and then one day you login, and they have gone. Instant messages no longer show as delivered, their blog is no longer updated, and their various social network accounts sit dormant. You wonder if it’s you, or if there’s something bigger going on. You worry if it’s something you said. You worry if they are ok. Then you begin to wonder if they were playing a part all along - and that you never really knew them at all. You become cynical about everybody for a while, and wonder if there’s any point to even trying to make new friends. Eventually you move on - you almost forget - but in the quiet moments their name appears from the darkest corners of your curiously disorganised brain, and you wonder about them once again. You wonder what you did, or if they are ok.