There are friends and then there are friends.

There are people who, within minutes of meeting you, will swear undying love and affection for you. These are the ones who will betray you first.

There are those who also swear of their undying love and affection from the first minute they laid eyes on you. They may tell you this a while later, but they are the next in line. To betray you, that is.

Then there are those who never say an extra, unnecessary word. There are no loud shouts or silver streamers or balloons. There are no booms and no bangs. They've been there with you all along; sometimes silent, sometimes vocal. They've studied you in Braille, with their warm fingertips reading the lines and wrinkles across your face. They've looked at you with their eyes shut and seen your inner light glow, seen you come into your own. They've spoken to you with sweeping embraces and gestures that only you can understand. Even when you're not together they've carried you with them, on their backs and inside their souls. They are the ones who will never betray you, not even if you stab them in their chests.