A Valuable Lesson

Everyone talks about when lovers break up. Nobody tells you what to do when you break up with your friend. There are no rules, no TV series, no movies. You have got to deal with all this alone. If you share your pain with anybody, they blow you off.

I had one such traumatic experience. My best friend Trina, we were in school together. For 7 years, for a minute also, we were not apart. We ate together, we sat together, we studied together. From our first kiss to our first heartbreak, we shared everything.

One day, Trina met somebody, his name was Imran. The three of us met at a party. Imran quickly fell in love with Trina. He wasted no time in approaching her. He was tall, dark and handsome. He looked older than the other boys in our class. Soon they became very close, he managed to convince Trina of his love and they got into a relationship. 

After the first 6 months of their relationship, I started to witness some changes in Imran. He was possessive, rude and behaved as if he owned Trina. He would ask her not to hang out with her friends anymore. He would decide what she could wear or whom she could talk to. Soon he asked her to stay away from me because I could disapprove of his behavior. I warned Trina about him. 

One day I saw Imran hitting Trina. I could not control myself and slapped him. 

You cannot raise your hands on a girl, I said. 

You stay out of it. Imran smacked. 

It is our personal matter. Trina bashed me and asked me to leave. 

I was heartbroken not because Trina rebuked me but because a strong, independent woman was blinded by her toxic lover. 

A week passed by, she stopped taking my calls and started to ignore me in school. It was time for our board exams. We all were studying hard to get into good colleges. I was not able to concentrate. A week before exams I decided to confront her directly. I went to her home and straight into her home. She was happily talking to Imran on her phone. I knocked on her door and she lied to Imran that her sister Tasha wanted help. She hung up and without giving me any chance to speak, she asked me to leave. She told me that Imran does not want us to be friends.

He says you are jealous because you don't have any boyfriend. Trina said.

What do you think? I asked. 

I love him and I want him to be happy. I am sorry. She said.

There was nothing more to talk about. I simply left. Its been 3 years now, we haven't spoken. I managed to get good marks and a good college. I was blessed with good friends in college. It took a lot to move on. I felt betrayed. I felt left out. However, I learned one valuable lesson from that friendship. It was never to expect from people. There is always someone who can replace you. I am not in touch with Trina but I know that she and Imran broke up as soon as they relocated to different cities. Imran cheated on her with some other girl from his college. I miss her but I don't want to be in her life anymore. I guess this is the best resolution of my life till now.