Why do my friendships fade when I go quiet?

You want friendship to be like a well already dug — you visit when thirsty and expect the water still there. But an untended well fills with dust. Silence is not neutral. It is a small closing of a door, again and again, until the door forgets how to open. You are not a bad friend. You are a busy, tired, human one. But do not mistake this for a love that requires nothing back. Real love still shows up. It still remembers. It still sends the small text at an ordinary hour. Fear whispers, "they'll understand my silence." Love picks up the phone and types "I miss you" — and means it enough to press send. If you are doing this work with others, you already know you are not the only one going quiet. Good. Use each other. Let your pod be the hand that nudges you toward the phone before another year closes over another name.