Benjamin's Constructed Odyssey

The red light blinked and turned green, so I hit send.

“I hope I don’t look like a psycho stalker sending you texts at this hour, but I just got done watching ‘The Matrix’ on Netflix and…”

The phone buzzed in my hand. The text flashed on the screen: “You could never look like a psycho stalker!”

And that was that.

That was all the encouragement I needed to start typing again.

“I mean, it’s not like I name-dropped Keanu Reeves or anything, right? But even if I did, it’d be cool if you were into movies, too. That would be awesome! Because we could talk about movies! Are you into movies? ‘Cause I really love movies. I mean, this is probably pretty obvious from how much time I spend on Netflix. Or other streaming sites. Or TV shows. But maybe that doesn’t matter because we can watch them together anyway! We can watch them at the same time! And we can talk about what we see and be friends who like the same stuff and maybe even see each other in person some day and then we can hug each other and hold hands and kiss each other and hold hands some more and then maybe make out for a little bit and then hold hands again without making out for a little bit longer and then *smooch*…”

The buzz sounded again. “I have to go now, Benjamin. It’s getting late here.”

I looked down at my phone to find the message had been sent hours earlier while I was still typing away in my room, rambling away to myself until my eyes started blurring over with sleepiness and my fingers ached with cramping up from hitting the keys so hard.

But at least she replied back before she went to bed, right? That had to count for something! Right? Her words of encouragement gave me the courage to keep going when I might have just given up otherwise! Like she was there with me all along as I typed away into the night, even though she lived halfway across the world from me! Wherever that was! What country was she from!? She didn't say! How would I ever meet her in person if she didn't tell me anything about herself!? Was she trying to leave me hanging!?

Ten years later…

Benjamin sat at his computer one evening after work when he decided to visit his old friend Taylor again. He knew that his relationship with her had changed drastically since their last conversation some ten years ago, but he felt compelled to reach out anyway. He just needed to know how she was doing these days — what she was up to — after all of these years. Plus he missed her voice; he missed their chats back in college when they were both just starting out in life and unsure of where exactly they were headed; he missed their conversations about everything from career aspirations to future dreams to everyday frustrations; most of all, he missed hearing her laugh at his stupid jokes about Keanu Reeves whenever he felt down about himself for not being able to talk to girls like normal people do it without feeling like absolute idiots all the time — don't get him wrong, talking with women is great when you have your confidence together, but more often than not it isn't so easy for him — but Taylor always seemed to be there for him no matter what; no matter how absurdly ridiculous his problems were or how horribly embarrassing they made him feel sometimes; no matter how pathetic he might have felt afterwards — man, oh man, did he feel pathetic sometimes — but no matter what happened between them back then (and it wasn't always rosy), Taylor always remained by his side through thick and thin until they finally went their separate ways once they graduated college; back when they used to call each other nearly every day just because they liked hearing each other's voices; back before real life had gotten in their ways; back when things were simple enough for one question or two about their day would suffice; back when things were simple enough for one answer or two in return would do fine as well; back when things were simple enough for two friends who were happy just being together; sometimes apart; sometimes together...

Years passed by quickly, and Benjamin wondered if their connection had faded as time went on. It was a strange feeling to look back on all of the memories they shared together, only to realize that perhaps he didn't know Taylor as well as he once thought he did. But despite the uncertainties and questions swirling around in his mind, he knew that he couldn't let an opportunity to reconnect slip away.

With a deep breath, he composed a message to Taylor, pouring his heart out into the message as he reminisced about their past and expressed his desire to catch up with her. As he hit send, he felt both nervous and excited at the prospect of rekindling their friendship after all these years.

He waited anxiously for a response, hoping that somehow, despite