Date: 13/08/2026
All Rights Reserved by the Author
Two old friends met after many years.
One arrived exactly on time.
The other arrived twenty minutes late.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I was delayed.”
His friend looked at him and smiled.
“That’s all right. I’ve been waiting twenty years to see you again. Twenty minutes doesn’t seem very long.”
They both laughed.
They spent the afternoon talking about everything and nothing—their old friends, their families, the foolish things they had done when they were young.
When they finally said goodbye, neither mentioned how many years had passed.
Some friendships have a curious quality.
Time can stretch between two people without really separating them.
You may not speak for years, yet when you meet again, the conversation simply continues from where it stopped.
Perhaps that is one of life’s quieter gifts:
the people who matter do not always need to be present to remain close.
Rajat Chandra Sarmah
Guwahati, Assam, India
Email: rajatchandrasarmah@gmail.com
YouTube: Converse With A Smile
@conversewithasmile
