Friendship Uncut

While I was growing up an Anambra woman living in the opposite apartment often scolded her daughters with this adage “ada a yi oyi nwoke na nwanyi ne fife” meaning (because friendship between the opposite sex is often unclear) a man and woman can only be friends at night! I have grown to find out that is not exactly true but still wonder how it is managed. How close can a woman get with a man and still remain friends? How do they talk about the intimate things about themselves only a man or woman should hear from another? What happens when attraction sets in?

Having a friend to confide in, to share your joys and fears could be one of the greatest things that can ever happen to a person. For those involved in it, it means a lot and serves various purposes. It is a relationship or affinity often between two individuals who share mutual respect, love, loyalty, trust and every wonderful feeling that goes with it. Sometimes a group of people share this bond of friendship but even in that group there is a tendency to have two people who enjoy an unbroken tenderness, affection and closely knitted desire. Ideally true friendship knows no bickering, envy or intolerance. When one regards another as a friend he/she has a feeling that such a person would neither harm nor cause you trouble. You are not afraid to share your life with the person because you believe the person is reliable, will always be there for you and will support you when you need them most.

We all need friends to help mould our lives in the right direction. Someone who’ll listen to us talk endlessly, give advice and seek our sincere opinion about issues or even to gossip with. It doesn’t matter how or where one meets them, they grow to fill a vacuum in your life. There are those who have been fortunate to have childhood friends, who have remained true to them, others join you in the course of life.

So back to my questions how will I tell a male friend something, somehow happened somewhere…?