A Friend, Indeed!

The other day, someone spoke about offline friends and online friends—how she connects more deeply with offline ones.

Yesterday, I made a brand new online friend.

We spoke for the very first time, for more than an hour, something I realised only when it was time for me to pick my son up from therapy.

It didn’t strike me in the moment, but the conversation flowed effortlessly—from trivial things like the doggies that dog my aunt, to deeply personal stories that we somehow stepped into without hesitation.

There was an almost confessional quality to it.

I don’t know if I would speak to my offline friends like that, on the rare occasions that we meet.

Why?

No idea.

Was it because we weren’t sitting face to face, and so something in us felt freer?

No idea.

I met two old friends not too long ago.

We spoke at length, exchanged stories, laughed, and I even dared them to drink cat poo coffee…

And yet, those conversations didn’t have the same depth as the one between two virtual strangers.

Why?

I don’t know.

Do you?

PS: I was additionally happy to discover that I’m not the only Methuselah here—I had company! (Now you know why I’m not tagging her. She’s also a black belt in Judo.)

PPS: This cat is an old friend. It turned up to glower at me just as I was confessing to my new friend—an animal lover—that I love animals dearly… when they are more than ten feet away from me.

PPPS: Thank you for the lovely conversation, my newest friend—and for not coming at me with your black belt skills!

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Gayatri Vathsan

Krishna was diagnosed autistic when he was four. I have fought exhaustion, fear, and guilt. The journey hasn’t been easy, far from it. But it has been profoundly beautiful, despite the moments of despair and hopelessness. It’s made me calmer, more grounded, more empathetic, more human. How could I not want to share this with you?

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A Friend, Indeed!

A Friend, Indeed!

Gayatri Vathsan

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