Still Friends

Bruce Powell • August 31, 2026

I thought I lost them

I thought I lost them.

There had been no argument.

No betrayal.

No moment when friendship officially ended.

Only time, distance and silence.

A growing conviction that the people I had loved belonged to a life I lost on that steep descent to the end of days.

But today we met again.

A slow wooded walk. Stories shared on oak benches.

Long hugs, quiet recognition, loud laughter, gentle reassurance.

We have all changed.

Pain. Loss. Uncertainty. Courage.

I see them now.

The ones I thought had left me behind.

We found one another again.

We are still friends.

An enduring love, healing us all.

Not the same.

Deeper. Flawed. Grown up. Real.

Is this what acceptance feels like?

It’s not perfect, but it’s real.


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