Sentimental, philisophical, but read it...I think you'll like what I have to say
There's something to be said about losing a good friend. It's supposed to be a painful experience, something to be avoided at all costs. And sometimes, that can ring true. Yet other times, it's only the natural thing to do.
A long time ago, a Greek philosopher named Heraclitus declared that change is the basic characteristic of nature. Never can a man step in the same river twice, for by the time the man puts his foot in again, the river has flowed on and the man has been changed by the experience. F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote "there are many loves, but never the same love twice."
So too is it with friends. As we journey through life, though we may walk beside our friends, we do not share identical experiences, and certain experiences affect different people in different ways. While sometimes these experiences allow us to grow closer to our friends, sometimes those experiences distance us from those we once shared everything with.
In this way, it is only natural for two people, though they may have the best of intentions and a plethora of passion, to grow apart. Sometimes, it cannot be helped. Things end when they will end, and who are we to protest?
Relationships are like a flower. They are beautiful when they are in bloom, giving the lives of those touched by them a bit of added beauty. But every flower wilts sometime. When a flower dies, there is nothing left to be done but to prune off the dead-head and await the next bloom, which promises to be even more exquisite. Yet keep the memory of that particular flower safe in your mind.
Over time, you'll gain a whole garden.