They got in touch after a long time, but I can't reply like I used to

Scenes

• Before the reply, the past comes back — When someone who's been out of touch for a while reaches out again, the relationship you had then overlaps the screen before the conversation you're having now.
• I'm glad to hear from them, but I can't send it right away — It's not that you're not glad to hear from them. You're worried that replying as you once did might pull your place in the present back into the past, so you keep changing the sentence.
• When a brief check-in grows long — You sit at the table and write a line asking how they're doing, then erase it. As you try to explain why you lost touch too, evening comes late.
• Two times in your life overlap in one message — When you look at the flow of your life, a message like this brings both your past self and present self back into view. That's why replying right away can blur the standards you hold now.
• Write only today's check-in first — Tonight, don't unpack the whole past. Just write one line asking what you want to know about them now. It's okay to simply look at it without replying.
• You don't have to go back to how things were — The length of your reply isn't the relationship's conclusion. First, check where you stand now, then choose your next words from there.