I don't know, it’s… I guess it's not even a big deal, really. Like, I shouldn't be here writing this, but it just kind of hit me today, you know? Like a little thump in the chest, not even a punch, just a *thump*. My daughter, she's three now, and she was playing with her stuffed bunny and making it "talk" to her other toys, all these little squeaky voices, and she was so absorbed. And I was just watching her, and then I picked up my phone, just on autopilot, I guess. And there it was, the group text from college. It was from Sarah, maybe a week ago? Yeah, a week. Just a picture of her son’s first day of kindergarten, with the little backpack and the too-big shoes, all cute. And like, five responses. All from people I don't really talk to anymore, people I wasn't even *that* close to back then. And then I scrolled up, and there were like, three more similar texts from the last month. Just… crickets from my side, and from Emily, and Jess. The ones I used to practically live with. We were inseparable, or so I thought. I mean, we did EVERYTHING together. Drank terrible cheap wine, went to that one club that smelled faintly of despair, studied for finals in the library until 3 AM high on bad coffee. We were a unit. A TRIO. And now? Nothing. I sent a text a few months ago, maybe in April? Just a quick "Hey, how's everyone doing?" with a funny meme I saw. Crickets again. Like, total radio silence. And it’s not even that I *expect* a response, not really. I guess I just… wonder what happened. We all got married, had kids, moved to different cities. Emily's got twins, Jess just had her second. I’m over here with my one, and my mom, bless her heart, is getting… well, she’s getting older. And further away, somehow. Every time I call her it’s like another little guilt knife twisting, you know? "Oh, you called. It's nice to hear your voice, honey." And I’m like, "Mom, I called you two days ago." And she just forgets. So yeah, I’ve got my hands full. We all do, I guess. But it’s just weird, isn't it? To go from being so… enmeshed, I guess, to just being these separate islands. And no one even bats an eye. It’s not like there was a fight, or some big falling out. Just… silence. Like the friendship just faded out, slowly, over time, like an old song on the radio. And I’m just sitting here, holding my phone, looking at a picture of a kid I barely know, whose mom I used to share a tiny dorm room with, and feeling… nothing much. A little thump. Just that. It’s kind of depressing how little it hurts, maybe? Or maybe that’s the point. That it *should* hurt more. I don't know.