Cami sat on her bed and opened Twitter. She was feeling lonely. She’d been surfing Weverse looking for a friend. Just someone to talk to. But no one had replied for days to any of her posts. It seemed pointless to check again.
But something kept her coming back. Probably just the hope of making a friend. That one person out of five million would take notice of her. So she glanced at her direct messages tab…
…and was shocked to see a minuscule “1” hovering over that tiny envelope. Her heart lifted. She tried to suppress that little burst of joy. No use getting her hopes up. Maybe her mystery respondent had found her by accident.
But she clicked on the tiny envelope anyway. And was pleasantly surprised to discover the message awaiting her. Someone with the name I’m just Real Me had replied to her advertisement. She read her message.
“Hi. Are you still looking for a friend? You sounded so lonely. And I know what that feels like.”
Cami reflected upon the cry for help she’d released onto Weverse. Just a few simple words really…
“I feel so bad. I’m anxious, upset, tired, scared. I need to talk, please…”
And then her Twitter account information. She hadn’t really expected anyone to take her seriously. Or to reply. She’d been ignored before. So many times…
But not today.
She felt a tear invading her eye as she stared at her phone. Someone had reached out to her. Someone thought she was worthy of love. Of friendship. Of her time.
She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat and clicked the little box to reply.
“Hi.” She clicked the little send arrow.
Then she waited. Twitter wasn’t like Instagram. On Instagram she would have been able to see if her new acquaintance had read her message yet. But on Twitter she just had to wait until she replied. But she didn’t have long to wait. She received an almost instant response.
“Hi, friend.” And a purple heart.
Then a moment later, a new text.
“How are you?”
“I’m all right,” she responded.
“Are you sure? You didn’t sound all right a few minutes ago.”
“I feel alone.”
“Sometimes, so do I. And I’m surrounded by people. I have several close friends. Yet still, sometimes, I feel terribly alone.”
“You do?” Cami responded in surprise.
“Yes…but you’re not alone. I want to be your friend. Would that be okay?”
“Yes! But I don’t wanna bother you.”
“You’re not bothering me. You could never bother me.”
Cami’s heart turned over in her chest. Whoever this person was, she was so kind.
“Thank u,” she responded.
“I know what it’s like to question whether anyone likes you for the real you. Do my friends follow me because they really like me? Or has my image fooled them all into believing that I’m someone I’m not? When the shiny surface fades, and they are left with my mood swings and my frustration and my weakness, will they still like me?
“Sorry…I’m venting my own fears now,” her new friend rushed to apologize.
“No. Don’t apologize! You’re being real with me. Thank u. I want to hear your fears. It makes me feel less alone. You have friends? But you still feel lonely?”
“Yes. All the time.”
Cami stared at her response. Maybe she wasn’t so strange after all.
