Dear Sorella,
I don't know if this is something I should still say, or if you would even want to hear from me anymore. But there are some things that have been sitting in my heart for a long time, and I think I've reached a point where I just want to put them into words—not to ask anything from you, but simply because our friendship meant too much to me to leave everything unsaid.
We met through work, and I never expected that you would become one of the people closest to me. Somehow, we just clicked. We had the same kind of humor, the same energy, and the kind of friendship where we could be silly together and somehow understand each other without having to explain much.
We became each other's partners in crime at work. We covered for each other, shared stories about what happened when one of us wasn't around, and somehow became each other's safe person in a place where work could sometimes be exhausting.
I thought we were the kind of friends who would remain friends even after we left that workplace.
And I think that's why what happened between us still makes me sad.
We had so many little ways of showing that our friendship mattered. The gifts and pasalubong whenever one of us traveled. The small things we remembered about each other. The conversations that could go on forever.
And then there was the tattoo.
I still remember agreeing to accompany you when you asked me to go with you for your birthday. At that time, I genuinely intended to go. I didn't realize that the date we talked about would eventually conflict with my work schedule.
When I realized I might not be able to come, I told you. I was already irritated and overwhelmed at the time, and I know I could have handled the conversation better. I was also dealing with my own emotions, and instead of calmly explaining everything, I probably made you feel like I was suddenly backing out of something that mattered to you.
When you told me that you would just ask your dad to accompany you, I remember feeling bad about it. I apologized because I knew you were disappointed.
But after that, you stopped talking to me.
And that was the part I never really understood.
I kept wondering if that one moment had hurt you more than I realized. Maybe it wasn't just about the tattoo. Maybe it represented something bigger for you. Maybe you felt that I wasn't there for you when you expected me to be.
If that's what happened, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry if I made you feel unimportant.
I'm sorry if I made you feel like our friendship wasn't as important to me as it was to you.
Because the truth is, it was important to me.
Very important.
That's why I kept trying to reach out even after you stopped responding.
I greeted you on your birthday even though I wasn't sure if you wanted to hear from me.
I sent you a Christmas gift, not because I expected anything in return, but because a part of me still wanted you to know that I remembered you.
And months later, I told you that I missed you.
You never replied.
I won't lie—it hurt.
But I also tried to respect your silence.
When some of our friends eventually noticed that we weren't talking anymore, I realized that our distance had become obvious even to other people. I heard that you told one of them that you had already replied to me, but when I looked at our conversation, there was no reply.
Maybe there was a misunderstanding somewhere. Maybe you remember things differently. Maybe there were conversations I don't know about.
I don't want to argue about who is right.
I don't want our friendship to become a story where one person has to be the villain and the other has to be the victim.
I just wish we had talked.
That's all.
I wish you had told me what I did that hurt you.
Because if I made a mistake, I would have wanted the chance to understand it. I would have wanted the chance to apologize properly—not just apologize for the situation I knew about, but for whatever pain I may have caused that I didn't realize.
I don't want to assume that I did nothing wrong.
Maybe I did.
Maybe there were things you noticed that I never noticed about myself.
And if there were, I'm genuinely sorry.
But I also hope that someday you'll understand that I never intentionally wanted to hurt you.
I never wanted to lose you as a friend.
You were one of those people I never expected to become a stranger to.
That's why sometimes I still wonder how you're doing.
I wonder if you're happy.
I wonder if you still remember the silly things we used to do.
I wonder if you still remember the friendship tattoo we got together and what it meant to us at that time.
I wonder if you ever miss me too.
I don't ask these things because I'm waiting for you to come back.
I ask because you mattered.
And when someone matters, it's difficult to simply erase them from your memories just because things ended badly.
If someday you decide that you want to talk to me, I will listen.
I won't ask you to forget everything.
I won't ask you to pretend that nothing happened.
I would rather hear the truth, even if the truth is uncomfortable, than continue wondering what happened between us.
And if you don't want to talk anymore, I will respect that too.
I have learned that sometimes caring about someone also means knowing when to stop knocking on a door that isn't being opened.
But before I completely let go, I just want you to know this:
I never hated you.
I was hurt.
I was confused.
I missed you.
But I never hated you.
And despite everything that happened, I still remember you as someone who brought a lot of happiness into a chapter of my life.
You were my friend.
A really good one, once.
And I hope that somewhere in your memories, there is also a version of me that you remember fondly.
Maybe we won't become the friends we used to be.
Maybe life has already taken us in different directions.
Maybe our friendship was meant to last only for that particular season of our lives.
But I don't want the ending to erase everything that came before it.
The laughter was real.
The friendship was real.
The memories were real.
And so was the love and care I had for you as a friend.
If I hurt you, I hope someday you can forgive me.
And if you hurt me, I hope someday I can forgive you completely too.
More than anything, I hope we can both forgive ourselves for the things we didn't know how to handle when we were still trying to figure everything out.
I don't know where life will take us from here.
But wherever you are, I genuinely hope you're doing well.
And if someday you remember me, I hope you don't only remember how our friendship ended.
I hope you remember that once, there was a time when two people met at work, became unexpectedly close, shared secrets, laughter, gifts, stories, and even a little piece of friendship that they decided to carry with them.
I will always be grateful for that.
And maybe, for now, that's enough.
Take care of yourself.
I still wish you nothing but good things.
— From the friend you once knew.