Nocturne #46 – Friends Filter Manual

What is a friend? When we live on some big ball where people speak incomprehensible languages, a friend is that one shelter where you can enter, take off your spacesuit, and simply breathe.

They don’t just listen to you; they read you. They read your silence, see the heartache behind your irony, and recognize the hidden fears behind your crude jokes. A friend knows your personal language. They don’t need to decipher what you say because they’re built on your code. They are your accomplice in this gigantic universe, watching everything alongside you and quietly saying, “Yeah, isn’t all this truly brilliant?”

And that’s the most important thing – they are living proof that you are not completely alone in this world, and that your madness is understood by at least one other person.

But let’s be honest. In the 21st century, in this digital hell, even friendship, like everything else, has become a kind of subscription service. Everyone has their own package, their own price, and, of course, their own “Terms and Conditions” that nobody ever reads.

Package “Free Trial” These are the people you randomly meet somewhere; life pairs you up with them based on common interest algorithms, and you have a great time once or twice. Ideal for parties, small talk, and social interactions. But as soon as the “trial period” expires, meaning as soon as a cloud appears in your life, this friend simply disappears. Contract terminated. Not subject to renewal.

Package “Basic” These are more serious players. They check in a few times a year, wish you a happy birthday with a generic Facebook message, and if you need something, they’ll definitely say: “Oh, bro, that sucks… If you need anything, I’m here.” In reality, “I’m here” means they’re ready to listen for a maximum of 5 minutes, then tell you a banal, cliché phrase like “Everything will be okay,” and get back to their own business. This package comes with “limited emotional liability.” They will never read my nocturnes; they will never understand.

Package “Premium” (LifeTime) This isn’t friendship anymore; it’s co-ownership of your personal hell. This is the type who steps into your inner asylum, not as a doctor diagnosing you, but as a patient who perfectly understands your diagnosis because they’re lying in the same ward. When your life’s airplane is going down in the middle of the ocean and everyone starts looking for parachutes, they’re the only one sitting next to you, giving you a friendly pat, and saying: “Okay, this will be interesting, let’s see how it ends.” This is the person who knows that sometimes “Everything will be okay” is the biggest lie, and instead tells you: “I know everything’s fucked up right now, but you’re not alone in this fuck-up.” The price of this package? Absolute soul-baring. Giving them the right to see all your cracks, and in return, being ready to look into their world with the same fearlessness.

Package “Legendary” (LifeTime) This is a completely different phenomenon. This is the friend you might not have seen for years. No messages, no calls, no likes. It’s as if they disappeared from your life. But then, one day, completely by chance, you run into each other somewhere on a street corner and… nothing has changed. There’s no awkward pause, no forced questions like “So, what are you up to, how are you?”. Time simply doesn’t exist. You continue the conversation from the point where you left off years ago. As if they just stepped out for a jog and just got back. This is the connection nurtured by shared interests, shared vision, and those special traits that aren’t easily found; you just get lucky – it’s something cosmic yet simultaneously mundane. It’s such a science, such material, that neither time can wear it down nor distance can separate it. They are the silent guardians of your story, who know who you were and therefore always know who you are. This package is priceless. You either have it, or you don’t.

Package “Self-Subscription” And finally, the most expensive, most elite, and hardest-to-obtain package – friendship with oneself. This is the subscription we most often refuse. We are, after all, our own harshest critics. We know all our secrets, all our failures, all our weaknesses. And therefore, we rarely even offer ourselves friendship on “Free Trial” terms. But perhaps, true friendship starts right here, doesn’t it? When you learn to forgive yourself, when you accept your inner demons and have tea with them, when you can tell your inner “me”: “I know you’re a mess, but it’s okay, I’m with you.” So… maybe before searching for someone else’s “Premium” package, we should at least sign a “Basic” contract with ourselves?

✨ If you purchase the Premium package today, you will receive the Legendary package as a gift!