NEW YORK (AP) — When Jennifer Lea Austin met Molly in second grade, they quickly became best friends . They giggled through classes until the teacher separated them, inspiring them to come up with their own language. They shared sleepovers and went on each other's family vacations.

But they gradually drifted apart after Austin's family moved to Germany before the girls started high school. Decades passed before they recently reconnected as grown women.

“Strong friendships really do stay for the long haul," Austin, 51, said. "Even if there are pauses in between and they fade, that doesn’t mean they completely dissolve or they go forgotten. They’re always there kind of lingering like a little light in the back.”

Early friendships are some of the deepest: the schoolmates who shared bike

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