How to decide on intimacy after betrayal?translated

Elvira PARFYONOVA

Director of Fundraising at the House of the Deaf-Blind, Lecturer at the Department of Social Work at PSTGU

“Happiness loves silence,” Aunt Valya said, pouring me tea. - Don't tell anyone anything. People are not kind. Do you think your friends will be happy for you? They’ll envy you and they’ll also jinx you.”

Aunt Valya was our neighbor, lonely and very superstitious. When I was a girl, I would go to her for tea and homemade pies, and she loved my visits because she had no family. Friends too.

Aunt Valya had her own theory of human relationships: rely only on yourself, don’t trust anyone in particular, don’t get attached - you’ll be healthier.

I listened to her and every time I thought: “Well, no, everything will be different for me.” But, as you know, the loud statements that we make in our youth are then tested for strength.

Years passed, and I had a close friend, so close that I told her almost everything. I didn’t expect a catch at all, and that’s probably why it was so painful to discover one day that the person you considered close suddenly became almost a stranger.

My friend lost interest in me, began to ignore me, and over time, she began to devalue almost everything I said or did.…