Member-only story
Ghosted by a Girlfriend
It’s time to let go
11 months; 337 days.
That was the last time I had heard from a girlfriend — until Friday when she suddenly appeared out of the woodwork to wish me a happy birthday.
I had sent 9 text messages in the first month of silence and then I gave up. Not a word from her at Christmas. No ‘happy new year!’
Nada.
She ghosted me.
A recurring behaviour that I put up with
It’s not the first time she’s given me the silent treatment. In fact, it’s the umpteenth time she has, although admittedly never for so long.
Time and again, over the 15 plus years we have been friends, she has turtled and not answered calls or text messages. I would worry about her, knowing she was living alone in a dingy apartment and being given the run-around by her miserable boss.
Whenever she did finally message after a turtled few days, it was always the same excuse. ‘Sorry, I was in a funk’.
I get it — truly, I do — for I have been in several despairing moments in recent years. I only asked, repeatedly, that — at the very least — she send a short message saying ‘I’m alive!’ explaining that I’m concerned for her wellbeing when the airwaves go silent.
