I Hope You Never Know It’s You (Letter 11)

Letter 11: The First Conversation

The moment I pressed send, regret found me almost immediately.

Images are taken from Pinterest

I stared at my phone for a few seconds before locking it and placing it on my table. In my mind, there wasn’t much left to think about. I had already convinced myself that he probably wouldn’t reply. After all, why would he? We barely knew each other. To him, I was just another classmate who had sent a message.

So I closed LinkedIn and didn’t open it again that day.

The next morning, I opened the app just like I always did.

There it was.

A reply from him.

I remember staring at the screen for a few seconds before reading it again, just to make sure I hadn’t imagined it. Looking back now, I know it wasn’t anything extraordinary. I had congratulated him, and he was simply being polite enough to reply. That’s basic courtesy.

To him…

It was probably just another conversation.

To me…

It felt like my heart had forgotten how to beat normally.

I replied.

And then something happened that surprised me even more.

He replied almost instantly.

I actually froze for a second.

I had spent months imagining what it would be like to have a conversation with him. Yet when it finally happened, I realized I had absolutely no idea what to say.

I tried my best to keep the conversation going. I asked him a few questions, and he answered every one of them. Then, without thinking, I accidentally mentioned seeing him during KindFest. He told me that he had been managing the chess challenge stall that day.

The moment I read his message, I wanted to hide under a blanket forever.

“Oh no…”

“I hope he doesn’t think I was paying attention to him that day.”

Of course, he probably didn’t think that at all.

But overthinking has always been one of my greatest talents.

The conversation continued for a little while, but slowly I started feeling awkward. It wasn’t because he was rude. Quite the opposite. He answered every question kindly. The problem was me.

I felt like I was interviewing him.

I would ask a question.

He would answer.

Then I’d ask another.

He would answer again.

At some point, I started wondering if I was forcing a conversation that he was only continuing out of politeness. We were still strangers, after all. I know I wouldn’t feel completely comfortable having a long conversation with someone I barely knew either.

So I decided to stop before it became uncomfortable.

I didn’t know how to end the conversation naturally.

So I reacted to his last message.

And that was it.

Our first conversation lasted only a few minutes.

But somehow…

It became one of my favorite memories.

…

Thank you for spending a few minutes with my story.

New here? You can begin from *Letter 1: I Didn’t Believe in Love at First Sight*.**

Missed the previous memory? Read *Letter 10: The Day I Finally Texted Him.***

Ready for what’s next? Continue with *Letter 12: Five Seconds Were Enough.***

Have you ever replayed a short conversation in your mind far more than the other person probably ever did?

I’d love to hear your story in the comments.

Until the next letter —

I hope you never know it’s you.