Xiaobian, the moment he brought her a clean makeup pad and simply stayed after hearing the truth… that got me. He couldn’t take the loneliness away, but for the first time she no longer had to hide it from the person beside her. You captured so tenderly that sometimes closeness begins with one frighteningly honest sentence. 🫶🥹
Per, the fact that you stopped at the makeup pad means so much to me. 🥹 I wanted that moment to stay very small, because he didn’t answer her loneliness with a grand promise or try to argue it away. He just stayed, wiped away what was left of the night, and let the truth remain between them without treating it like something dangerous.
I think that’s what I was trying to reach with this piece: sometimes closeness begins not when someone finally knows how to fix what hurts, but when you say the sentence you were most afraid would change the relationship—and discover that the person beside you is still there afterward.
And I love the way you called it “one frighteningly honest sentence.” That’s exactly how it felt to me too. Thank you for always finding the quiet little places where these pieces are really hiding, Per. 🫶🥹
Thank you for telling me this. That little moment with the makeup pad held everything for me because he didn’t try to fix her loneliness. He simply stayed. I’m so glad I found what you quietly left there.🫶
That means more to me than you know, Per. 🥹 Some things in a piece feel too small to point at directly, so I just leave them there and hope someone will notice.
Wow!!! The sheer act of falling in love because we want to fall out of loneliness is so godamn raw and real. I just loved how your entire piece flows. You write beautifully.
Thank you so much, Sonali. “Falling in love because we want to fall out of loneliness” is such a beautiful way to put it.
I think that was the ache I kept circling while writing this—the hope that another person might finally close the distance inside you, and the confusion when love arrives but some part of that distance remains.
And thank you for saying that about the flow of the piece. That means a lot to me. I wanted the loneliness to move quietly through the relationship rather than announce itself all at once, so I’m really glad you felt the piece as a whole. 🤍
this one felt uncomfortably real. you can have someone sitting right next to you, loving you, checking in on you, doing all the right things, and still feel completely alone. i really felt the part about pretending everything is fine because you’re scared that admitting you’re lonely will somehow make the relationship feel less real. sometimes you don’t need someone to fix the loneliness. you just need to finally be honest about it.
pranshi, yes—what frightened me most was that the loneliness seemed to accuse a relationship that had done nothing obviously wrong.
If someone is cruel or absent, loneliness has an explanation. But when they are kind, present, and genuinely trying, you can start treating your own loneliness as evidence that you are the problem—that you’re ungrateful, impossible to satisfy, or somehow failing at being loved.
That’s why the honesty mattered to me. It didn’t make the loneliness disappear, and it didn’t make the relationship less real. It simply meant I no longer had to protect the relationship by hiding one of the truths living inside it.
I’m really glad you saw that distinction. Thank you for reading this one so carefully, pranshi. 🤍
Dropping the exhausting act of pretending everything is perfect takes an incredible amount of courage Xiaobian..🥹 Sometimes just letting a single honest, painful truth exist in the room is a massive relief..🫶🏻
Priyanshu, you found the exact place I wanted this piece to rest. What mattered to me was that nothing was magically solved after the truth was spoken—the loneliness stayed, and there was no perfect answer. The relief was simply that I no longer had to protect the relationship from the truth by pretending it wasn’t there.
I think sometimes the most exhausting part of loneliness is not the feeling itself, but carrying the extra weight of performing its absence. So yes—letting one painful sentence sit in the room, without rushing to fix it, can be its own kind of tenderness. Thank you for seeing that so gently. It means a lot to me that you keep meeting these pieces with this kind of care. 🫶
I'm glad Xiaobian and hiding your loneliness and constantly forcing yourself to look happy for other people is way more draining than the actual sadness itself and letting that truth just sit there takes so much courage..🤍
Exactly, Priyanshu. I think that’s the part people don’t always see—the performance can become heavier than the feeling itself. Sometimes the first relief isn’t making the sadness disappear, but finally not having to hide it. I’m really glad this piece gave us a place to meet around that. Thank you for staying with it so gently. 🫶
Yeah Xiaobian.. carrying a fake smile around absolutely drains your battery. the best kind of comfort is simply finding a safe space where you can be a total mess without any judgment and I'm so glad.. you are brilliant in writing..🫶🏻
Exactly, Xiaobian..🤍 Being able to show up as we are, without pretending or editing ourselves, is such a rare kind of comfort. And thank you for your kind words, they truly mean a lot..🫶🏻
The sheer act of falling in love because we want to fall out of loneliness is so godamn raw and real. I just loved how your entire piece flows. You write beautifully.
Ohmygod, this was such a great great read. Istg. By the ending of it I cried for them. I cried for the fact that how he didn’t rush her, how he didn’t ask her any questions and just did the most basic and simple thing. Because sometimes you don’t actually know the whys, why you feel this way even when the people close to you love you so much, care for you so much, be there. But still you kind of feel lonely, the loneliness never goes away. It remain as always.
Because just like you said being care for, loved is completely different than being seen. Someone can love you the most but you might still not feel seen and hence, that loneliness is still there in you.
Thank you so much for writing it. I love love every bit of it. 🫶🏼
Xiaobian, the moment he brought her a clean makeup pad and simply stayed after hearing the truth… that got me. He couldn’t take the loneliness away, but for the first time she no longer had to hide it from the person beside her. You captured so tenderly that sometimes closeness begins with one frighteningly honest sentence. 🫶🥹
Per, the fact that you stopped at the makeup pad means so much to me. 🥹 I wanted that moment to stay very small, because he didn’t answer her loneliness with a grand promise or try to argue it away. He just stayed, wiped away what was left of the night, and let the truth remain between them without treating it like something dangerous.
I think that’s what I was trying to reach with this piece: sometimes closeness begins not when someone finally knows how to fix what hurts, but when you say the sentence you were most afraid would change the relationship—and discover that the person beside you is still there afterward.
And I love the way you called it “one frighteningly honest sentence.” That’s exactly how it felt to me too. Thank you for always finding the quiet little places where these pieces are really hiding, Per. 🫶🥹
Thank you for telling me this. That little moment with the makeup pad held everything for me because he didn’t try to fix her loneliness. He simply stayed. I’m so glad I found what you quietly left there.🫶
That means more to me than you know, Per. 🥹 Some things in a piece feel too small to point at directly, so I just leave them there and hope someone will notice.
I’m really glad it was you who found this one. 🫶
I’m glad you trusted the reader enough to leave it small, Xiaobian. Those are often the moments I love most. 🫶
That means a lot, Per. 🤍 I’m learning to trust those small moments more — and to trust that the right reader will find them.
Wow!!! The sheer act of falling in love because we want to fall out of loneliness is so godamn raw and real. I just loved how your entire piece flows. You write beautifully.
Thank you so much, Sonali. “Falling in love because we want to fall out of loneliness” is such a beautiful way to put it.
I think that was the ache I kept circling while writing this—the hope that another person might finally close the distance inside you, and the confusion when love arrives but some part of that distance remains.
And thank you for saying that about the flow of the piece. That means a lot to me. I wanted the loneliness to move quietly through the relationship rather than announce itself all at once, so I’m really glad you felt the piece as a whole. 🤍
this one felt uncomfortably real. you can have someone sitting right next to you, loving you, checking in on you, doing all the right things, and still feel completely alone. i really felt the part about pretending everything is fine because you’re scared that admitting you’re lonely will somehow make the relationship feel less real. sometimes you don’t need someone to fix the loneliness. you just need to finally be honest about it.
pranshi, yes—what frightened me most was that the loneliness seemed to accuse a relationship that had done nothing obviously wrong.
If someone is cruel or absent, loneliness has an explanation. But when they are kind, present, and genuinely trying, you can start treating your own loneliness as evidence that you are the problem—that you’re ungrateful, impossible to satisfy, or somehow failing at being loved.
That’s why the honesty mattered to me. It didn’t make the loneliness disappear, and it didn’t make the relationship less real. It simply meant I no longer had to protect the relationship by hiding one of the truths living inside it.
I’m really glad you saw that distinction. Thank you for reading this one so carefully, pranshi. 🤍
Dropping the exhausting act of pretending everything is perfect takes an incredible amount of courage Xiaobian..🥹 Sometimes just letting a single honest, painful truth exist in the room is a massive relief..🫶🏻
Priyanshu, you found the exact place I wanted this piece to rest. What mattered to me was that nothing was magically solved after the truth was spoken—the loneliness stayed, and there was no perfect answer. The relief was simply that I no longer had to protect the relationship from the truth by pretending it wasn’t there.
I think sometimes the most exhausting part of loneliness is not the feeling itself, but carrying the extra weight of performing its absence. So yes—letting one painful sentence sit in the room, without rushing to fix it, can be its own kind of tenderness. Thank you for seeing that so gently. It means a lot to me that you keep meeting these pieces with this kind of care. 🫶
I'm glad Xiaobian and hiding your loneliness and constantly forcing yourself to look happy for other people is way more draining than the actual sadness itself and letting that truth just sit there takes so much courage..🤍
Exactly, Priyanshu. I think that’s the part people don’t always see—the performance can become heavier than the feeling itself. Sometimes the first relief isn’t making the sadness disappear, but finally not having to hide it. I’m really glad this piece gave us a place to meet around that. Thank you for staying with it so gently. 🫶
Yeah Xiaobian.. carrying a fake smile around absolutely drains your battery. the best kind of comfort is simply finding a safe space where you can be a total mess without any judgment and I'm so glad.. you are brilliant in writing..🫶🏻
Aww, thank you, Priyanshu. 🤍 That genuinely means a lot coming from you.
And I completely agree — sometimes the safest place isn’t where someone fixes us, but where we don’t have to tidy ourselves up before being seen. 🫶
Exactly, Xiaobian..🤍 Being able to show up as we are, without pretending or editing ourselves, is such a rare kind of comfort. And thank you for your kind words, they truly mean a lot..🫶🏻
The sheer act of falling in love because we want to fall out of loneliness is so godamn raw and real. I just loved how your entire piece flows. You write beautifully.
Ohmygod, this was such a great great read. Istg. By the ending of it I cried for them. I cried for the fact that how he didn’t rush her, how he didn’t ask her any questions and just did the most basic and simple thing. Because sometimes you don’t actually know the whys, why you feel this way even when the people close to you love you so much, care for you so much, be there. But still you kind of feel lonely, the loneliness never goes away. It remain as always.
Because just like you said being care for, loved is completely different than being seen. Someone can love you the most but you might still not feel seen and hence, that loneliness is still there in you.
Thank you so much for writing it. I love love every bit of it. 🫶🏼