{"id":63804,"date":"2025-06-09T17:46:30","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T17:46:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/?p=63804"},"modified":"2025-06-09T17:46:30","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T17:46:30","slug":"my-friend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/?p=63804","title":{"rendered":"MY FRIEND &"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I opened the note, my hands trembling slightly. Jake\u2019s handwriting was familiar\u2014sharp and a bit hurried, as if his mind was racing faster than his pen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re reading this, it means I backed out. Or maybe time simply ran out for me. Either way, I\u2019m sorry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I should never have let something as trivial as Laura come between us. That\u2019s my fault. But that\u2019s not the reason I wanted to reach out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some time ago, I found out I lost the bet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My heart skipped a beat. I clutched the note tighter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have cancer, Paul. The bad kind\u2014the kind where doctors only talk about \u201ckeeping you comfortable.\u201d I thought I had more time, but life has a way of surprising you, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wanted to see you one last time, to laugh about our silly bet, and to tell you I\u2019ve always thought of you as my brother. But I was scared. Scared you\u2019d be angry. Scared you\u2019d pity me. Scared I\u2019d break down in front of you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I left this instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know you, Paul. You\u2019ll sit there, finish your beer, and wonder why I didn\u2019t face you directly. The truth is, I wanted to remember us as we were\u2014two kids who thought time was endless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take care of Laura. Take care of your daughter. And don\u2019t waste time on grudges over things that don\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You won the bet, Paul. Now make the most of the time you have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Jake<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I read the note three times before setting it down. My chest felt heavy, and my throat tightened. I glanced at the pint glass before me\u2014untouched. I didn\u2019t know if I wanted to drink it or throw it against the wall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake was gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I never got to say goodbye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t head straight home. Instead, I drove without direction, Jake\u2019s words echoing in my mind. Eventually, I stopped at the park where we used to race as kids. I sat on a swing, gripping the chains, staring at the empty basketball court where we had spent countless summers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought about all the time lost. All the years we could have shared if only we had been less stubborn and more willing to let go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my contacts until I found Laura\u2019s name. She answered on the second ring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey,\u201d she said warmly. \u201cHow did it go?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I swallowed hard. \u201cJake\u2019s gone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A pause. \u201cGone?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I read her the note, my voice shaky. After I finished, she was silent for a long moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCome home,\u201d she whispered at last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That night, as I tucked my daughter into bed, she looked up sleepily. \u201cDaddy, why are you sad?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hesitated, then gently brushed a curl from her forehead. \u201cI lost a friend today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

also read…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I opened the note, my hands trembling slightly. Jake\u2019s handwriting was familiar\u2014sharp and a bit hurried, as if his mind was racing faster than his pen. Paul,… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":63805,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63804"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=63804"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63806,"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63804\/revisions\/63806"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/63805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=63804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=63804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=63804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}