The Shadow of Friendship**

*

Julia had always felt that Lena was her other half—the other half of her soul she never had. She knew everything about her: what amused her, what hurt, what dreams woke her in the middle of the night. Every glance from Lena spoke louder than a thousand words, and every conversation was like a magical ritual that strengthened their bond.

Until that day.

It was an ordinary Wednesday, but for Julia, nothing was ordinary anymore. At work, during her coffee break, Lena disappeared from her sight. Instead of her usual smile and jokes, a cold, tense silence filled the air. When Lena texted that evening that they "needed to talk," Julia felt a strange, unsettling feeling—a tingling sensation down her spine, as if the scent of betrayal was already in the air.

They met in an old, empty park. Leaves rustled underfoot, and the wind carried the scent of approaching autumn. Lena avoided Julia's gaze, fiddling with her hands as if searching for a way to escape.

"Julia... I have to tell you something," Lena began, her voice trembling, uncertain.

"Whatever it is, tell me," Julia replied, trying to keep the tremor from her voice. But it did. Her whole body trembled.

"It's... about your project... about your ideas." Lena lowered her head. "I showed them to Marta."

The words stuck in Julia like sharp knives. "She showed them... to Marta..." She felt the ground slipping from beneath her feet. Everything she knew, everything she had built over the years, began to crumble into dust.

"Why?" she whispered, fear mingling with anger in her voice. "I thought it would help you… that things would get better…" Lena tried to explain, but Julia could only hear her own anger, the echo of betrayal echoing in her head.

Julia stood up suddenly, her heart pounding, her palms damp with sweat. Everything inside her screamed: run, strike, scream, cry… but most of all, she simply wanted to stop trusting.

That night, she couldn't sleep. She lay in the dark, replaying every moment, every conversation, every secret she'd confided to Lena. Every moment together now felt like a lie. Betrayal had crept into her life like poison.

The days passed, and Julia felt increasingly withdrawn. The people around her seemed alien, the world came into focus. Every phone call filled her with dread, every message from Lena made her stomach clench. Julia became obsessed: she analyzed Lena's every sentence, every slight change in her behavior, searching for signs of betrayal she hadn't noticed before.

But over time, she began to see the light. Writing in her journal became therapy for her, and long, solitary walks allowed her to clear her thoughts. She understood that betrayal had taught her something very important – that trust is like glass: beautiful but fragile, and that it's not worth giving it to anyone who can't respect it.

Meetings with Lena, who was trying to fix everything, became unimaginably difficult for Julia. Every word, every gesture from Lena seemed alien, artificial. In the end, she wrote back only once:

"We can't be the same people anymore. Betrayal has broken something beyond repair."

Afterward, Julia felt relief, but also sadness. She understood that sometimes you have to let go to save yourself. She began building new relationships – carefully, slowly, but consciously. She met friends who were honest, loyal, who didn't need to prove anything with words, because their hearts spoke for themselves.

Although she sometimes remembered Lena, Julia no longer suffered. She learned that true friendship didn't require betrayal, that trust was a foundation that couldn't be rebuilt once broken. And in that, though painful, she discovered strength: the strength to move forward, even if the heart still bore the scars.