Strangers Again...

 Hi… I am Ayaan.

And this is something that happens more than anyone talks about.

Well, this is something about relationships these days.

Have you ever given a thought about how it works. Let’s say it these days people can easily find someone they can fall in love with or maybe just be friends.

It starts with a profile. A name. A few photos. A bio that tries to say something real in three lines or less.

And then — tentatively, cautiously — you say hello.

The first few conversations are careful. You're both performing slightly better versions of yourselves. Funnier. More interesting. More available than you are. There's something about talking to a stranger that makes honesty easier. No history. No expectations. No version of you they've already decided to believe in. There is no wall or anything required to hide.

And slowly — without either of you planning it — they stop being a stranger.

You talk every day. Morning messages. Late night conversations that go longer than they should. Inside jokes that appear from nowhere and make you smile at your phone in public.

For a little while they become part of the texture of your day. You think of things to tell them. You save observations for later because you know they'll understand.

It feels like something.

Then — gradually, quietly, without announcement — it changes. Replies get slower. Conversations get shorter. The warmth cools, degree by degree, until one day you realize you're working harder than you used to just to keep the exchange alive.

No fight. No falling out. No explanation.

Just — less. And then lesser. And then nothing.

Until one day you scroll past their name and feel nothing except the faint ghost of a time when that name meant something.

Strangers again.

I have thought about why this happens so often. Maybe it's the abundance — the constant availability of new connections makes each one feel slightly disposable.

Or maybe we are all looking for something. And when we sense this particular person isn't quite it — we don't end things. We just slowly withdraw. Because withdrawing is easier than explaining.

I don't say this with bitterness. Just with a quiet awareness of how strange and lonely the modern search for connection can be.

We have never been more reachable. And somehow that has made us more alone.

 

— Ayaan | One Day at a Time 🖤