Have you ever been in a position where you watch a person tell a lie even when you already know the truth? This situation doesn't necessarily have to be yours. It could have been a friend’s and you fortunately got to witness it in person or from a distance? Yes?
One of such situations occurred recently to a friend and I happened to be there (more like, I coincidentally bore witness to the situation and later on, the whole situation was explained properly to me:)
For better context, let's call the friend who requested my presence Sarah. Sarah, who is an amazing young lady, invited another of her female friends over to her place for the weekend. Since Sarah assumed she wouldn't be so occupied that weekend, she called her friend over to keep her company. Her friend on the other hand was in desperate need of a place to escape to as her hostel mates were driving her crazy, so she accepted the offer.
I happened to visit Sarah that Saturday and so I got acquainted with this friend in question. The weekend was fun-filled as expected and by Monday, Sarah’s friend returned to the hostel.
According to Sarah, she noticed that her friend's bag was filled to the brim in contrast to the half-filled bag she came with but she didn't pay so much heed to it. A few days passed before Sarah could realise what had just happened.
She woke up one morning to search for her favourite corporate gown but couldn't find it. A gown that is always neatly ironed and folded. Sarah assumed that she probably didn't wash the gown as she didn't do her laundry that week. She found another dress for the day.
Well narrating the story, Sarah said she had a strong nudge to visit her friend in the hostel some days later. On arrival, she realised that her friend wasn't around so she called her and told her that she, Sarah, came visiting. The friend urged her to wait and that was what she did.
A few minutes in, the friend called her and told her that someone was coming into her room. She instructed Sarah to check her box and remove a notebook for the girl. When the girl arrived, Sarah did as instructed and handed over the book to the girl. However, while searching for the book, a dress with a familiar and unique pattern caught Sarah’s attention and she brought out the dress just to quench her curiosity.
It turned out to be the corporate dress she was rigorously searching for a few days earlier. And it didn't even stop there. Sarah dug a little deeper and found a few of her other clothes that she personally loved wearing. This was of course a confusing situation because why would a friend carefully pack the clothes you like wearing? Did she think the owner wouldn't notice?
Sarah said she stormed out of the hostel that day with her clothes of course. The next day, while Sarah and myself were returning from a lecture, we crossed paths with the ‘friend’ and after the regular greeting, Sarah casually started complaining of how much she searched for favourite dress but couldn't find it. The ‘friend’ also casually said “ You should check again. Maybe it’s hidden somewhere.” I almost burst out laughing at the flimsy lie but I just had to stifle the laughter.
We parted ways and I could see the heartbreak and fury in Sara’s eyes. How does a friend steal from you and still deny it without batting an eyelid? Can such a person still be classified as a friend?
The whole situation can be explained with a song “I know what you did last summer” by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello. The song basically talks about a person who knew what their partner had secrets which they knew about but for some reason, the partner kept lying about them.
The masterpiece by the duo delves into themes of betrayal and suspicion which was the case with Sarah and her ‘friend’. For those who like gist like myself, here is how the story ended.
Some days later, Sarah wore the dress and ensured that the friend saw her in it. As expected, the friend was extremely flustered and couldn't make a complete sentence. Not even an apology and that is how a once amazing friendship withered and died. The question of why now arises. Why do that to someone you call a friend? And even if you want to borrow their dress, why not go for their favourites? Human behaviour and reasoning is something that is ever evolving so I can't exactly wrap my head around these answers but a little “May I borrow these '' would have gone a long way in saving that friendship or what do you think?
