I was there,
lying on my bed, trying to fall asleep for more than an hour when it hit me -
we're pretty much alone, everyone else is just a tourist in our lives. Some
decide so stay longer and extend their holiday, but will be leaving sooner or
later. Even if they are family, friends, enemies, lovers, postmen or strippers,
their staying time is proportional with the time you spend together and as
that period shortens, they become foreigners. It's weird how you get to know
someone, you develop some kind of a relationship and bond with them, but as
soon as you stop seeing/talking to each other it's like they haven't even
existed, it's like you're strangers that never knew each other, you forget how
it feels to know them. And it's nobody's fault. I'm not talking about one's
inability of keeping in touch, but there’s something in the human nature of
being selfish and protective over their genetic material that puts solitude and self-preservation above anything else.
I can't even remember how
many people I've met so far, how many I've actually talked and became friends with,
but the fact that we weren't able to meet too often anymore erased our memories
so much that if we randomly make eye contact again, we have no idea who the
person before our eyes is (figuratively) and we act as awkward as we usually do
near strangers. I don't blame them, obviously, we crossed paths for a reason
most likely, but we're just passing by in each others lives, nothing more.
Family is no different, we
just have an extra incentive to stick around longer - the sense of obligation.
Think about not seeing one of your siblings for five years, no talking either.
Do you think you'll care as much that you're related and would be able to put
them above your best friends right away? Probably not. The thing is, we don't
like to get attached for too long and if we do, it's probably for different
reasons. People come and go, we forget them and move on.
