Silence is not a precious metal

Yup, we’re still on the subject of Friends. Lately I’ve had to say goodbye to a few friends, some really close to my heart. It’s been difficult to accept the reality that I didn’t know if I’d ever see them again. Like many others before them, they’ve left for the US in pursuit of a ‘higher’ education. Now, I have no decisive plan for my future as yet, so I admire them for having direction in their lives.
The strange thing is, I had the least to say in terms of Goodbye, to the friends I valued most. Calling them or being there physically didn’t matter; I couldn’t bring up much at all. I wondered if this was due to my apparent fear of open emotiveness (if that is even a word) or was it just me being me, freezing at the time of trial. It couldn’t be the first; after all, these were my friends, to whom I told everything. It couldn’t be the second…after all, these were my friends with whom I was most comfortable.
The answer came to me as I lay in bed at night, pondering my inability to express myself to the people I cared about... These were not my friends.
How do you put ‘friendship’ into words? Easy enough, check your nearest dictionary for a nice juicy meaning, complete with synonyms. How do you put ‘more than friendship’ into words? Webster, Roget and Co. are stumped too. These weren’t my friends, these were my best friends. When friendship transcends mere pleasantry, gifts and companionship and enters the realm of ‘Together till the End’ that’s when words fail you. Although ‘together’ here may not connote ‘together’ in a physical sense, I think my point can be well enough understood.
I normally NEVER use extremisms like the one above, ‘World’s Best Dad’ and so on, but in this case the context is perfect.
I know that the possibility I may never speak to them face to face again is a very real one, since we’re only beginning our journey into life and there many roads to be travelled. But, I will still, always, count them as my best friends, because I know that no amount of eloquence or simplicity will enable me to explain to them the impact they’ve had on my life and how much they mean to me.