protagonist
give you my heart
precious people who became part of my life
@55555sx · October 16, 2025
cover

I’ve met three people recently — well, not that recently, but between now and last year.


I haven’t felt this feeling in a long time. Maybe it’s something that comes with age — the quiet ache of recognizing connection when it happens, and realizing how rare it is. In this world, where everyone seems to know each other — or at least knows of each other — friendship becomes something uncertain. Everyone’s a mutual, a familiar face, a name in a feed. Not sure when you are allowed to call someone a friend.


Even though I don’t see these three often, I feel an immense sense of comfort and connection with them. It makes me wonder if this is what people mean when they speak of soulmates. I hesitate to write this because it feels fragile, almost embarrassing — like saying too much might make it disappear. But they each are so precious to me. Not because we’re especially close, but because my heart, somehow, feels at ease.


In this piece I will call them A, X, and H. For sure they will know I am talking about them and that makes me slightly nervous. I met them mostly through social media, through friends of friends, and it's funny how they're all connected. They slipped in my life and left a mark.


A is a writer. His writing carries a kind of truth that stings and soothes at once. Every time I read his words, I feel my heart stretch — full and aching. There’s a tenderness in his sentences that I can’t look away from. No one has made me feel this kind of love before — not romantic, not platonic, but something else entirely. Something I cannot describe. Sometimes I wonder if it’s admiration, or envy, or something between the two. Maybe it doesn’t matter. His words make me feel love, and that’s enough.



1.00
A - who makes my heart warm

X I met through a pop-up. We spoke briefly, nothing serious. But later, by chance, I ran into him at my work. He was just there, eating. I came to pick something up and somehow stayed, talking with him for what felt like hours. It was one of those rare moments where conversation doesn’t require effort, where the silence between sentences doesn’t threaten but invites. I left with this strange warmth — a feeling I hadn’t known I’d been missing. We saw each other again at a few events after that. Slowly, without realizing it, we became friends.


Then there’s H. I first knew of him through TikTok — he followed me, and I followed him back. There was something about his presence that stood out; he might be the most effortlessly aesthetic guy I’ve come across. At first, it was nothing more than mutual follows, small acknowledgments in passing. But over time, we started talking more, and the small exchanges turned into real conversations.


We became friends not long ago, but it happened quickly — so quickly that it kind of scares me. There was an ease in the way we spoke, something I couldn’t quite name. I often wondered where we stood — friends, or just two people orbiting the same quiet space. Still, I’m not sure what we are, but for now, it’s fine. It doesn’t matter what we are; we’re here.


We spent time together in small, unexpected ways. The laughter, the quiet pauses, the awkward moments — they lingered with me. It felt easy, like we were in no rush to define anything, and somehow, that felt enough. 


1.00
H - who I met not long ago

[...]

After that night, something shifted. I felt close to him — ten times closer than before — and the comfort was so sudden it frightened me. Maybe it sounds exaggerated, but it’s been a long time since I’ve felt that kind of closeness. I wanted to tell him this, but words like that always feel too heavy, too serious. Still, I hope he knows.


Even in all that warmth, there’s still this trace of awkwardness — maybe the kind that keeps things tender, keeps them human.


I am grateful how these people found their way into my life. I hope they feel the same, even if not as intensely. They don’t have to. I just hope they know what their presence means to me.


I almost want to say I love them — though I’m not sure that’s what I feel. That word still feels too heavy to say aloud.