For some strange reason, my past is beginning to pop out of obscurity in the form of old friends, acquaintances, and familiar faces. Stranger, still, that they are doing so one after the other. Friends from as far back as 3 decades ago have somehow found their way into Friendster and straight into my circle. Is this why they say  life begins at 40? Am I having a rebirth of some sort? Yikes, I don’t even think I have fully lived my first two decades yet…

Lately, my best friend is having a difficult time dealing with my frenzied thirst for new friends. She gets jealous even though we have a long history of friendship, which has seen the best and the worst in both of us. She’ll kill me when she reads this…. (i love you, hehehe…)

I choose very carefully who I consider as friends and who I can only refer to as acquaintances. Sure, it sounds harsh, but the word “friend” is sacred to me. I can count in my fingers right now who I can call my friends. The rest are either acquaintances who come and go, and friendly faces who have the potential to become my friends.

A friend, for me, is someone who share his or her time with me unconditionally. Someone who does not list me down as an appointment to fulfill. Now, there’s such a thing as abuse. I try my best not to ask too much of my friends’ time, knowing that they, too, have their own lives to spend time on. What I appreciate is that they are there when I need them most.

Which is why I keep a best friend. Someone I can abuse — with love and anger. Someone who can have a shouting match with me and yet understand that after each fight, we are the best of friends who have nothing but love for one another. Some people say they have more than one best friend. Well, pardon me for being a writer, but there is a reason why you call one person your “best”. Yes, I do have good friends and better friends. I’ve had several best friends in the past, but I only keep one at a time. What happened? We couldn’t commit ourselves to giving each other the time we both needed.

Today, I have one best friend and I believe she will be my last in this lifetime. We made a pact that we will seek each other out in the next, but hey, we are not God.

In the meantime, Greis, you know that I am with you all the way. Be strong, like you have always been. Our friends and family are all praying with you. As we always know, God has never failed us, and He never will.