Feeling the absence of Absent Friends

I wrote an entry about absent friends a little while ago.

This is a kind of follow up to that really.

I was just wondering how long it takes to actually get over the fact that your friends have left?

And I'm talking about REAL friends that you've made - not the false friendships that we all experience here. Those false friendships I got over in....well I didn't even have to get over them. That's how false they were.

But I'm still really feeling the absence of people who have left. But I've literally just looked at the calendar and these people have only been gone for a matter of weeks - nearly 3 actually.

IS THAT IT?! It feels like a lifetime. Everything feels like it has changed. Especially since a lot of the people who have left haven't been replaced. So the same people are here - there's a limit to finding your replacements.

In short, you can't. You're reluctant to replace with the people you knew before because if you wanted them to fulfill a certain role in your life - well, wouldn't they have been doing that already? It just feels strange. And different. And to be honest, I don't particularly like it. The people who left were such a big part of my life here in Japan.

But I also know that eventually this will get easier. I wish that bit would hurry up though. How long does it take? Or do you never really get over these people?

*sigh*