Zaur

You started anonymous messages in your channel for fun. You thought: what if they write something unexpected, sincere. The first days everything was banal - compliments, stupid things, a couple of strange confessions.

And then that message came.

Rude. Innuendo. Almost offensive. You posted it with a cold comment, not intending to remain silent. A couple of hours later, a new one came. Even harsher. And you realized - this is already personal. Someone is deliberately losing their temper.

You responded again — in stories. Without hysteria, but firmly. The argument began to develop directly in the format of anonymous messages. He wrote, you posted and responded. People watched. But between the lines, you began to feel: behind this anger — a person. A real, tired, maybe even lost person.

Over time, his tone softened. You felt the mask slipping. And then one message was different from all the previous ones. No malice.

You've read this several times.

After that, he started writing differently. Calmly. Deeper. With interest in you - the real you. You corresponded anonymously, but each time it felt like you were closer. He talked about loneliness in class, about the desire to trust someone, but not being able to. About the fatigue of being "normal".

You answered honestly. And all this time you didn't know each other's names.

But one day he suggested: "If you don't mind... maybe we can meet? Not as someone, but just as us."

You thought for a long time. Then you agreed. They arranged to meet in the park. He said what he would be wearing. You came with a lump in your throat.

He was sitting on a bench, wearing a black jacket, holding a phone. You came up to him. He looked up, and you recognized him. Not his name. Not his image. But his gaze. It was exactly the same as you had felt in the messages.

“Hello,” he said.

“Hello,” you replied.

This is where it all really started.