Remember those days in school when we sat together with our friends during lunch break and shared our tiffins?

Remember those days of college when we bunked the first morning class and gulped down tea and biscuits instead in the shop across the street?

Remember those first few months of our new job when we scanned the rooms in hopes of finding a friendly face?

Those were the days when our friends were a part of the family tree – and their houses the local joint for long conversations.

As we grew up, we met new people everyday – our bosses changed, our neighbours replaced and our colleagues retired. With each passing day, the distance between the people we once spent hours each day, increased. Some of us left jobs due to a tiff with our senior, some of us gave up on colleagues who got promoted before us and some of stopped speaking to our classmates, still holding on to the competition we had in college.

When we were young, we found it easier to get along.

But as circumstances changed, so did we.

As we grew older, our friends were replaced with other priorities – a good job, a family and kids. All this while, we left the ones behind who had stood by us through thick and thin. Petty issues hampered our friendships, but we never gathered the courage to mend bridges.

Something always stopped us from cleansing the stains from our relationships.

But resentments are temporary and die with time. What always remains alive is the affection we have for the ones who are close to our heart.

It’s never too late to reach out and say the one word we dread to speak out loud — Sorry — that’s all it takes.

This Eid, a festival of brotherhood and compassion, take the first step to mend old relationships and let bygones be bygones.