A painful discovery has been how uncommon true friends are, and how easy it is to find enemies right beside you. I have been shocked by my inability to distinguish ally from foe. But at least I am wiser for it. Naive trust has been costly.
It shakes one to the core.
The disbelief lasts LONG after the relationship is over... and, there is a lingering sadness, that is hard to step away from.
We are not as easily fooled or used now, we will protect ourselves - we will not rely on 'the kindness of strangers', even when they seem to become fast friends.
Every interaction has the potential to show them for what they are.
We have become solitary, but, it is not a bad state to exist in.
