Whoever cannot keep his own secret should not blame another for revealing it.My grandmother often repeated those words to me, but I never truly understood their meaning until the day I trusted my best friend, Rudo, with something I should have kept to myself.
It all began during a rainy afternoon after school. The sky was covered by a cloak of clouds. Rudo and I were sitting in a small cafe, near our bus stop, laughing at our stupid jokes. He was my closest friend; we would share everything with each other, such as our dreams, life goals, habits, and fears. Thus, on that particular, fateful day, I ended up sharing my biggest secret with him.
"One day when I was on my way to a shop to spend my pocket money, which my mother gave me, I came across a man who was wearing rags and covered in dirt; he was sitting under the shade of a tree. Due to pity, I went nearer and gave him one copper coin. He took it, looked at it, and then he looked back at me, and then he put a smile on his face and said, "It seems you mistook me for a beggar, but little sir, I am not a beggar; I am just a construction worker." He gave that coin back to me while laughing. I said while laughing at my silly misunderstanding, "It was just a personal secret; however, it was my secret, and he was the only one with whom I shared it because I trusted him the most." He promised me that he would not share it with anyone.
Days passed, and everything seemed normal; however, it all started when I saw a few classmates staring at me, laughing and whispering something while looking at me. Then came the mocking comments and the questions I couldn't answer. My heart sank when I realized that Rudo had failed to keep his promise, and my secret had somehow reached everyone's ears.
When I met him after school in the same cafe, I asked him about it, and he answered, "It just slipped out while I was joking." His excuse only made my heart sink further. I began to stay away from him. Bonds of friendship are so fragile yet are so hard to make; all it takes for them to break is a single moment. For days, I didn't even look at him, nor did I ever reply to him. Eventually I forgave him, but the deep bond we once shared was never able to be the same as before.
Now, whenever I think of that incident, my grandmother's words echo in my mind: if I truly wanted to keep my secret safe, I would never have shared it with anyone.