MEANING OF FRIENDSHIP

"It's non of my business if you all don't like her." Shamim retorts already flaring up. "Why do you all want to have power over my life and always tell me how to live my life when I clearly can't do that you." He stops and continues. "Most especially you!"

"Shamim!" Ella calls sternly with her eyes burning red. "I am your sister!"

"Sister you say?" He asks and laughs. "You are not even my sister, I hope you know that."

"Shut up." She whispers.

"Get out of my room." Shamim says and moves his eyes away from her.

"Are you in your right senses?!" Ella asks at the top of her voice.

"Get out!" He orders at the top of his voice too.

Left with no choice, Ella walks out of his room feeling very rejected and disappointed, she sluggishly walks to her room and the moment she opens the door, she sees someone hurriedly move away from her wardrobe and shuts the wardrobe door. "What are you doing here?" She asks calmly trying to hide her annoyance which she walked away with from her brother's room.

"Nothing actually." Asma replies with a bit of fear written all over her.

"Why are you searching my wardrobe when I am not in the room?" Ella asks again.

"Nothing, I was just searching for something to change into." She sighs. "The way you walked in and opened the door got me really scared. She moves closer to Ella and collects the junks from her. "Don't tell me you are eating this alone."

Ella stares at her friend with suspicion for some seconds. "Could it be that you are the insider?" She asks in her mind.

"Are you just going to stand there or sit and let's talk?" Asma asks and sits on the bed helping herself out with the junks.

Miss Smith joins her suspicious friend on the bed and sits side by side with her. "I hope you don't need anything." She whispers sadly rubbing her palms together.

"Why do you sound this sad? Is everything okay with you?"

"I am fine but just a little stressed out." She fakes a smile.

"Alright." Says Asma and shrugs her shoulders as she helps herself out with the junks she collected from Ella earlier.

Ella can't help but stare at her friend, she has been one of her closest and favorite people on earth for a whole ten years, is it possible for her to suddenly change and turn her back? Or was she forced to do so? What if she isn't a insider to start with? What if it is just a mere coincidence? These questions travel far around Ella's mind and at some point, she locked eyes with her friend. "What kind of punishment do you think should be given to those people who back Stab and betray their friends?"

"Actually I have no idea on that, because I have never experienced such, why are you asking such questions by the way?"

"It just flashed through my mind and I thought I should discuss it with you." Deep down in Ella's heart, she plans to disturb her friend's conscience with her conversation, if truly she is the anonymous insider.

"I hear many news these days talking about a friend killing another friend over materialistic things or even betraying his other friend for an enemy. Such news makes me feel very bad."

"Many of them don't even know the meaning of friendship." She stops and smiles. "Do you even know what friendship means?"

"Just two people bring friends, isn't that all?" Asma asks raising her brows.

Ella shakes her head. "You are wrong, there is more to friendship than what you all think."

"More to it?" Asma asks again doubting. "Okay, let's hear it."

"Okay, let me start with the the meaning of friend. A friend is someone who always fights for you, stands by you, and always has your back, a friend is ready to break his or her back for you. A friend is someone who will always defend, support and encourage you. They will always make sure you smile and they will never betray you or back stab you for any reasons."

With the expression written all over Asma's face, it is very obvious that she is already trying to get the message Ella is trying to pass. "I never thought of friendship to this extent."

"I haven't even talked about friendship yet." She says with a broad smile. "I only mentioned about the meaning of friend to you."

"What?" Asma asks with surprise.

"Yes." Ella nods with a smile.

"So what does friendship means?" Asma asks again.

"Friendship means that special and positive bond between friends. The bond is so sacred that it is not easily broken."

"What if the bond got broken? Does it mean it he bond wasn't sacred from the onset?"

Miss Smith exhales deeply and continues. "Though, there are some circumstances that might cause such bonds to get broken. That is why as friends, we need to do our possible best to make sure such circumstances doesn't come to reality."

"Friendship has a lot to do with loyalty, and being loyal to someone isn't a simple thing to do." Asma whispers getting very deep into the conversation and kind of emotional too. "What if the person you are loyal to isn't loyal to you? What if the person is a bad omen to you and you aren't aware? What if the person's intentions are as dangerous as that of a snake venom?"

"Then leave karma to deal with such person." Ella whispers looking at her friend straight in the eye. "Whoever you are with, make sure you are loyal, to the core."

"I must say, this is the first time we would be having a conversation like this." Asma says with a bitter smile and appearing as if Ella's talk did pinch somethings out of her."

"I can always talk to you like this if you want, you are my true friend that I will never betray and I know you won't ever betray me too, will you?"

Asma shakes her head with a smile already tearing up and embraces Ella tightly. "Thank you for coming into my life."

"I love and cherish you a lot my friend." Miss Smith whispers but still not sure if Asma is the insider or not.