Embers of Friends

Embers of Friends

It always starts out the same way, two people meet and they're strangers. They might know a little bit about each other. They may know nothing about each other, but they hope to find a comrade out of the person they've met. It starts as a spark, the light of a new friendship, and it moves to become a small flame, warm and glowing. That flame grows and eats up the fuel we give it, our commitment, once we lose our commitment to our friendship the flame dies out. It becomes embers that slowly fade into ashes.
I can see the light in his eyes, the burning desire. “Hey dude!” he says to me so enthusiastically. I'm awkward, and I don't really know what to say. I was never socially inclined, but I wanted to make a new friend. With my new found determination I managed a “heyy!” This was our first encounter, the flint strike. We were at Disneyland, and the friends we came with brought us together. We spent all day belligerently waiting in lines, and enjoying the rides. It was a lucky encounter to say the least. His spontaneous nature and fun-loving attitude is contagious. In those occasions that we would spend time together he drew out a new outgoing side of me. The fire had started, and we solidified that friendship through the years becoming closer and closer until we were inseparable.
Burning strong and yet fading slowly, our friendship was faltering. There's no way to know why we were giving up on each other. Someone was wrong first, someone lied first, someone didn't know how to apologize first. This was another one of the countless times we would yell at each other, make snippy remarks at each other like two chihuahuas separated by a fence. I must have gotten tired of his personality, or maybe his tendency to never reach my expectations frustrated me I don't really know. I'm watching him as he tries to put his instrument away in my spot. He takes my case and slides it out to replace it with his. His face a frustrated knot of anger and...