byler "Soft Stranger"

Will lived in a small American town and spent almost every evening on Tumblr. His blog was cozy: drawings, rain photos, favorite songs, and old movies. One day, he came across Mike Wheeler's account, a guy from Canada, in his recommendations.

Mike's posts seemed confident and a little daring: photos with friends, rock music, and jokes. Will never expected that one day Mike would like several of his drawings in a row and then reply to a post.

That's how their correspondence began. They exchanged music, talked about their cities, and gradually got into the habit of writing to each other every day. Will quickly realized that behind the "tough guy" image lurked a completely different Mike—soft, caring, and ridiculously tender.

A few weeks later, Mike suggested calling each other. They both pretended not to be worried.

• Well, should you call?

— You call.

• Why me?

• Because you suggested it.

Eventually, the call finally started. For the first few seconds, they were simply silent.

• Hello…

• Hello.

Silence again.

• You... are real.

• Did you expect that I was fictitious?

Will chuckled softly, and Mike looked completely embarrassed.

— I mean... your voice is different.

— In a bad way?

• No! Just... different.

They spent a few more minutes awkwardly trying to come up with topics for conversation, interrupting each other and laughing at their own awkwardness. But gradually the tension faded. That evening, they talked much longer than they had intended.

And after the call, both of them stared at the screen for a long time, realizing that now the distance between Canada and America felt somehow much stronger.