He turned back the old photo in his phone, taking a photo of his graduation date. The two laughed at each other, arms around each other, as if the whole world could not be separated. However, it is unknown from when, the messages are slow, the calls are slow, and then they are quiet. No arguments, no misunderstandings, just a long period of silence, as if time had quietly dug a gap between the two.
You now work in a big city, you don't hear it's a famous technology company. He still saw friends on social media: photos of his renovated suits, his business trips abroad, his confident but strange smile. He chose to stay in his hometown, open a small coffee shop, and live slowly in the peaceful days.
In the past, he and his friend often sat on this bench, dreaming about the future. You say you want to get rich, want to change the world. He just laughed, saying he wanted to live a peaceful life, not a jostling. At that time, they respected each other's dreams, but no one thought that those dreams would take them apart. You rush into the cycle of work, deadlines are flooded, "connected" parties (networking). He finds joy in making coffee, listening to customers tell stories, and watching the rain through the glass door.
He remember the last time he met a friend, two years ago, at a noisy bar. You wear a vest, talk about stocks, projects, things he doesn't understand. He talked about coffee shops, about peaceful mornings, but his eyes were wide open, as if thinking about an upcoming meeting. They laughed, holding a glass, but both knew: something had changed.
Everyone knows that life is unpredictable. Everyone is different, because everyone has to take their own path. Friendship, like a river, sometimes rolls, sometimes quietly branches. He doesn't blame you, nor is he sad about the distance. He only felt a vague regret, like when he saw the yellow leaves fall, knowing that autumn would pass.
Today, he was sitting here, holding a cup of cool coffee, and suddenly received a message from his friend: "About to go home on the weekend, can you visit the restaurant?". He smiled and replied: "Oh, come over, I'll make you coffee." He did not expect the two to be close like before, but he knew, no matter how different, part of them were still somewhere, in the old days, on this bench, between the dreams they once shared.
Because there are memories that will never change.
