Of course, it all starts with a simple reddit post, but great things often come from humble beginnings...

We exchange messages back and forth, gradually moving off reddit and onto a messaging app. As the days go by, we begin to look forward to seeing that new message notification. It makes us smile. The butterflies are there on the inside of us.

We talk about life, hopes, dreams and the let downs. The lonely pain of our home lives. We are both longing for a connection, for something more than we already have. Of course, we have both been down this road before and have seen it end only in disappointment, but somehow, this feels different.

Gradually, schedules are compared and a rare opening appears for a meeting. The day draws near and brings with it the rollercoaster of emotions: hope, fear, nervousness, longing to be liked or maybe even loved.

I arrive and you are waiting for me. There is something different about you from the start. A hurting, raw, openess. Something not quite missing, but not complete either. Words do not do the description justice. There is an excited energy that says you are no threat, not to be mistaken for weakness, but something else that is soothing to my core.

You smile as you look up at my 6'1 height. I introduce myself and inwardly laugh at the pointless gesture, after all, you already know so much about me, as I do you. We make small talk, only slightly awkward. Then, listening to my heart, I reach out across the table to hold your hands in mine.

The touch is electric. In a moment we bond over a simple gesture of physical contact. The longing, while still there, is momentarily satisfied and replaced with a feeling of contented peace. You smile. I smile.

Deep down there is a feeling. A feeling of having found your counterpoint in another person. A reassuring warmth grows inside of you.

All this because you responded to a simple reddit post...