When a Brother Becomes a Memory

Time passes so fast, we don’t even realise it. We never think that one day, friendship can end. But people really change with time.
He used to tell me, “You are like my brother.” And I believed him. I trusted him so much. I used to share everything with him like he was really my own brother.

I once told him, “My father is not in this world anymore, so you are like the sixth member of my family.” And he replied, “Yes, you are my best brother.” 

Whenever I felt sad or quiet, he would ask, “What happened?”

I used to say, “You are the younger one, don’t act like the elder brother.” But still he would say, “Just tell me, yaar.”
And I would tell him everything. Because for me, he was truly my brother.

I am the kind of person who doesn’t make many friends. I don’t like meeting new people. I prefer to stay in my own little world. When I do meet someone new, I behave very shyly — just like a bride feels shy in front of strangers.

That’s exactly how it was when I first met him. In the beginning, he seemed like a nice person by nature. But as usual, I didn’t try to make any friendship. He was the one who came forward and offered his hand in friendship. And slowly, our bond became so strong that I didn’t even realise when he became like a brother to me. Whenever I got something, I used to think of sharing it with him too. Those days were really good, and life kept moving forward beautifully.

Our friendship used to be like an example for others. Whenever we had fights, it was never both of us who were upset — usually only one of us was angry. Playing with him was so much fun. Sometimes we would make so much noise that people around would get annoyed. A brother can only care so much — he used to say, ‘Don’t take tension, I am here. What’s the point of worrying? Try to solve the problem.’ If he thought I was upset, he would quickly change the topic so I wouldn’t feel sad. He always supported me.

Now I’m going to talk about the moment you’ve probably been waiting to hear. The truth is it was my fault. I kept making the same mistakes again and again. He didn’t like those things — he told me many times, but he never really got angry with me. I thought maybe he would eventually accept it. Maybe deep down, he was getting hurt, but because our bond was so strong, he never said anything directly. Sometimes he would get upset, but I used to think, "He’ll forgive me like always."

But slowly, I think he started feeling sad from inside. My weakness was that I didn’t understand him. In a way, I kept troubling him, even when I didn’t mean to. I would tell him, “One day I’ll become better,” and he would smile and feel happy. He was such a pure-hearted brother.

And then… that day finally came. The day I never imagined. He said to me, “That’s it, bhai… I can’t take it anymore. I’m seriously hurt now, and I won’t talk to you again.”

I used to tell him again and again, “One day I’ll change, I promise.” But this time… he didn’t believe me. He had heard it too many times. The trust was gone. And maybe… that’s when our friendship truly ended.

I asked him, “Okay… but at least tell me, have you forgiven me?”
He looked at me and said, “No.”

That one word… broke something inside me. I froze. I never imagined that a day would come where I’d be begging for forgiveness — and he would say no.

I asked him again and again, “Please… forgive me.” But he kept saying the same thing: “No.”

Then I said, “Please… forgive me. Because if you don’t, even Allah won’t forgive you.”

Something in him changed after hearing that. He quietly said, “Okay… I forgive you.”
I looked at him one last time and said, “Bhai, just smile once. It’s our last day.”
He gave me a faint smile… and just like that, our brotherhood ended.

I still remember his words. The stories… the fun we used to have together. I’ve left all those things behind now — the things I used to enjoy with him. But how would he know that? I could meet him if I really wanted to, but now… there’s a fear inside me.

But believe me — if someone keeps forgiving you again and again, that doesn’t always mean they’re happy with you. It just means they care. And if they care, you should care about their feelings too.

I don’t know whether he still thinks of me as a friend… or maybe even as an enemy. But for me, he will always be my brother. And I believe that if not today, then someday… we’ll meet again — like real brothers. And on that day, both of us will smile, and every bit of anger between us will disappear.

In the end, I just pray that Allah keeps him happy always. Even if it hurts me that we’re not together anymore, deep in my heart I know — this distance was probably good for him.
And if something good happens to my brother… that means something good has happened to me too.