Social media…
Quite the mysterious thing.
I used to believe in it—a little too much, maybe.
I believed it was the one place where true friendship....or even love...could exist.
Why?
Because it was elusive. Fleeting. Intangible.
It's a place where anyone can paint an image of themselves, and most people will just accept it.
Some will believe you without question.
Some will doubt you immediately.
But if...if...you're lucky enough to meet someone who's also just looking for something real...
Then all the stories, all the lies, all the masks don't matter.
And that's what I found.
A friend. A genuine one.
No matter how brief the moment seemed.
What pulled me in first wasn't her face.
Sure, she was pretty.
But I've seen prettier.
She had that innocent, pure aura about her.
But so what? That could easily be a mask....anyone can fake innocence.
What really caught me... was the language.
Her language.
And that's where the fun began.
See, I'm what you might call a bookworm.
A knowledge addict.
A full-blown fanatic when it comes to learning new things.
When I stumble on something unfamiliar, I chase it, relentlessly.
And so, I did something I never do.
I asked for her contact.
Three days. Just three days from the day we met, and I broke one of my unspoken rules.
It stung.
My ego didn't take it lightly.
The voices in my head had a field day:
> "Ohhh, bro finally grew soft!"
"This is hilarious...man's lost his damn mind."
"Just three days, and you're out here switching up?"
"Who even is she to make you act out of character?"
Yeah. That's how I lived...me, and the endless commentary from the peanut gallery in my brain.
And today? They were relentless.
My finger hovered over the message for a long time, debating whether to delete it.
"Forget it", I finally thought.
If she doesn't send it, it's her loss.
So I left the chat.
Later, I came back.
And there it was...her contact.
I dropped mine in return and logged off without another word.
But pride is a funny thing.
It kept whispering, don't message her first, don't call, wait.
So I did.
I saved the number.
Didn't message.
Didn't call.
Then....
I checked WhatsApp and saw a "hi" from her.
I smirked. Slapped my forehead a little too hard.
"We literally agreed to be friends. Why the hell am I acting like calling a friend is beneath me?"
Still… I didn't call.
I hate calls.
So we stuck to chatting.
She started teaching me her language, basic phrases, expressions, sounds.
She was passionate about it, and I was surprisingly eager to learn.
It was new, it was exciting, and for a moment, it felt like we had something rare.
But the excitement started to fade.
Not all at once....just gently.
She was a school teacher at the time, so I figured she was tired.
I told myself, let her rest.
She probably needs it.
But I was wrong.
It wasn't exhaustion.
It was reality....
The very thing she had hoped I would distract her from.
The one thing she was trying to outrun… had caught up with her.
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