I used to think, the Villain was the guy who (among other things) broke up strong, enviable friendships. I thought such things (as powerful bonds snapping for no reason) happened only in the movies. If such a person existed in real life, I thought, we could easily make him out for his cunning eyes, malicious words, obvious bad intentions and sloppy look. Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, if any of you harbour such misconceptions, I am here to set you right. If you don’t, the rest of this blog ain’t for you.

If you – decent, civilized, educated, well-dressed, honest, live-and-let-live person – really put your heart into (sometimes without even intending to) wrecking a relation, with intentions honourable or harmful, let me assure you, you can do it. The relation in question can be anything from a close friendship (spanning a quarter of a century), to a loose acquaintanceship that is on the verge of something deep, to a comfortable, unnamed camaraderie that has existed since time immemorial.

Okay, I might as well confess that in the last …mmm… fifteen-twenty years I have had the good fortune to have found myself at all the three corners of the situation in question, in different instances: as the victim who suddenly found the branch I was holding to broken, then as the one who broke it, and later, yes, as the Villain who prompted it to break. The last, quite unintentionally, I assure you.

The trick to make it work (being the Villain, I mean) is Persistence. As you all know, Persistence pays. You may also know that persistence is quite impartial – it does not distinguish between innocent and indecent intentions, or between men and women. If you keep after it, it has to pay, sooner or later. Mostly later. You may not know it is bending, till suddenly one day you hear the ‘snap!’ The only possible side-effect is that your own relation with the victim(s) could snap with it.

So, as I was saying, if you really want to wreck someone’s cosy friendship or affaire de coeur that is really rankling you, go ahead. Whisper the magic words into the ears of one of them. Keep whispering, day after day, week after week, month after month. Don’t give up and you’ll see the results.

When you do, come back here and post a comment so that I’ll know. If you’re going to tell me no such thing happened ever in your life, I suggest you hold that comment and ponder for a while. If you tell me it’s a woman thing, my answer would be, open your eyes and look around.