Random Thoughts

how should somebody say goodbye to his/her friend? the question may seem simple. you just have to meet that person or call him/her, say some nice things about the future, tell him/her that you hope he/she will keep in touch, and then end the conversation.

but actually it isn't so simple as it seems, at least for men. you can't be emotional when you say goodbye, for you are afraid that your friend will feel sorry about leaving. you want that when your friend should start the journey, he/she should be happy, full of optimism, and bristling with energy. and you think, rightly so, that your sad face will fill your friend's heart with remorse and he/she will start losing the strength to fight adversities with courage even before facing them. in nutshell, you are afraid that your sadness will percolate to your friend's life also, even though it may happen later.

and anyway, you can't sound sorry because, as the name of an oscar-winning movie suggests, boys don't cry.

but you can't be happy either, especially if your friend is very close to you. you will have thousands of worries yourself about his/her future. you know your friend is smart and old enough to take care of herself, but you don't any option other than to lose your sleep thinking about her. you will be afraid that she will start to neglect her health if nobody is around to remind. she won't have anybody to talk to when she is feeling low and wants someone to comfort her. there won't be anybody who can advice her on what is wrong and what is right, so that she doesn't have to go through the same hard experience that you have gone through. there won't be anybody to give her a hug when she will do well, and there won't be anybody to scold her when she will commit some mistake. this world is so harsh, emotionally so cold, and so full of deceit that you are afraid she will lose her pristine innocence. she will lose the innocence which sets her apart from the rest of the world. she will lose the smile which seems to fill the whole world with its bright light. she will forget her laughter, which you love so much. but these, no matter how frightening they may seem, are not your biggest worries. your biggest nighmare is, that she will lose your memories.

How to say goodbye, then?