we've said goodbye too many times before

We performed the obligatory round of goodbye hugs, and as I wrapped my arms around her, I wondered how much truth was in our words. Best wishes for a memorable summer and promises to reconnect upon her return in the fall. I smiled at her and couldn't help but notice the look of sorrow in her eyes. Though we may have said it, our hearts did not agree. It is likely we may never speak again.

...

I held him tight and forced myself not to say goodbye. Doing so would close the door to opportunities that lay yet undiscovered in our future. Some of my longest standing friendships have survived distances greater than the one that will soon be created between us. I stood in the darkness on my driveway hoping this would become one of those friendships.

"See you soon," I told him. And it really is the truth.

...

I never intended to say goodbye. I have trouble with words in situations like these and with people like you. Please understand that what I really mean to say is that I think you're amazing and you make every day a Something New Sunday for me.

I miss hearing the way you say my name.

...

You left without a trace. What am I supposed to think or feel? I'm disappointed. Angry. Betrayed. I remember when all this was new and uncharted, when experience didn't affect our expectations. We'd laugh over silly things, bond over hardship, wonder where the days ahead would take us.

What happened to you?

Don't think about me or him or her or us. We're certainly not thinking about you.

...

I once had a friend with whom I shared everything: wins, woes, loves, and losses. The inside jokes were endless, and partying on a week night was never a problem as long as we had each other's company. And then this friend embarked on a nine-month journey around the globe to explore and acquire knowledge about the world we live in. The physical and temporal distance created between us shattered our friendship, leaving our relationship unrecognizable in the end. It was a sad thing to say goodbye to something that was once so wonderful.

BFF, please promise that we won't end up that way. You mean too much to me.

...

These past couple days without you around have been harder than I thought they would be. I've heard from others that we're inseparable, but I guess I couldn't really believe it until you were gone. There's no one to laugh at my jokes, no one to tell the jerks to fuck off, no one to ogle at all the dogs with, no one to call just because, no one to tell me he loves me when I feel like the rest of the world could care less. I feel like you're the brother I never had. The knowledge of your soon-to-come departure tears my heart to pieces. What will I do when September ends?

Though your days begin in the east, you will always find your way back west, to a place you can call home.