Friendships are built or starved in the little choice to text back.

Closeness is rarely decided by big gestures. It accumulates in the two-second decisions nobody mentions, the reply sent while you are walking, the message you meant to answer and did not. Distance arrives the same way, one unreturned thing at a time, until neither of you can point at the moment it started.

Scroll back through your messages and find the two you left hanging. Answer them today, briefly, without apologizing for the delay at length. A short late reply keeps more than a long one you never send.