The other's coat.

"A true friend doesn't ask what you need—

it's there before you ask."

The man took the same route to work every morning.

He didn't rush.

Not because he had time—but because someone else was walking by.

His friend.

They didn't talk much.

Sometimes there was a whole street of silence between them.

But when it was cold, one of them would always ask:

— Should I get a coat?

And if the other said no, he would bring one the next day anyway.

Not for himself.

One day the man got sick.

Not seriously, just so much that it would have been difficult on his own.

He didn't ask for help.

He didn't say anything.

But the next morning his friend was standing at the door.

He didn't ask anything.

He didn't say "you owe me."

Just this:

— I'm coming with you today.

He went on like this for weeks.

Not out of gratitude.

Not out of duty.

But because friendship does not weigh.

When the man grew stronger, he asked:

— Why did you do it?

The answer was simple:

— Because if I had been there, you would have done it too.

And that sentence contained everything.

Selfless friendship is not a heroic act.

Not a sacrifice.

But a quiet balance: we do not count who gave what, because we know that it belongs in the same place.

"There are friendships that do not live on promises, but on the fact that someone stays when everyone else has moved on."