walking, walking

people come and go freely into our lives. most of them are not invited, they just happen to be there in a moment, their uninvited, but not unwelcomed presence standing next to us as the course of their lives intercepts our own. most people leave as fast as they came in, leaving only a faint memory behind - a memory that sometimes cannot even picture a face, only a presence. some of them remain for a while, walking side by side with us, until they vanish again, the memories of them laying only in the dark recesses of our minds and in old and wrinkled photo books, that we see once in a long while and wonder that has happened to them. some of the people remain long enough to leave strong memories behind, memories that we cherish whenever their presence returns to our mind for some reason or for no reason at all. some of these end up leaving with a bang, a loud and unnecessary bang that hurts when heard. we move along. we are driven along, maybe, but we always move along.

only a handful remain for long, until we almost forget the exact point of both's lives where we met, their presence in our lives being so natural. they remain. they stay with us, they walk with us, even if sometimes none of us is aware we're walking together. some of them will walk with us forever, regardless of the distance that lies between us and them. we know they are there. we know that time goes by, that we are silent for too long, but when we decide to break that silence, they are there. they listen. they give us a hand without waiting for we to ask. that is probably the most precious thing we are ever given.