Friendship, with an Asterisk

A Story by UnbridledFlame

I originally had the thought of creating this after watching Fairytale. What further solidified this philosophical monologue was when a friend drew comparisons from the anime to our relationship.

“𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴; 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭.” In a way, I partially agree with that sentiment… though the better half of me reminds me that life isn't a predictable novel. Rather, it is a wave--you can rise high only to sink lower than where you started. Similarly, relationships can start strong and seem nearly fixed, some may even say unbreakable: “𝘐'𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦.” Though that's untrue in the most honest sense.

If, for example, you were to stab that person's mother, they'd reassess you and the relationship and say, “𝘉𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬!” Of course, there's nothing wrong with holding others accountable. Just don’t manipulate yourself into believing your fantasy of what a ‘true’ friendship is. In essence, that statement is one forged in a utopia--though our world lacks the precision to bring it to reality; it shall remain a façade of the human imagination.

© 2025 UnbridledFlame

Author's Note

The title reflects how friendships are similar to contracts, in that both are built on mutual conditions (an asterisk, often used in writing to signal a hidden exception or condition, symbolizes that these “unbreakable” bonds usually come with unspoken terms). Let me know what you think!

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DIVYA

I really like how you said it here. Most relationships are shallow and most are transactional. Though to a varying degree. There's no relationship that's totally free of expectations, I think. So I agree with you and its a good thing to go into a friendship with our eyes open and realistic expectations, knowing we'll be giving them something and getting something in return in a mutually beneficial way.