It was late afternoon, and the river, bathed in the golden hues of dusk, whispered its soft lullaby as Jack and Mike sat on its grassy banks. The world seemed to pause in these moments, still and suspended between light and shadow. Jack, ever the quiet observer, sat with his hands resting in the cool earth, his gaze drifting lazily over the water. Mike, on the other hand, fidgeted, tapping his foot in the grass, his fingers nervously playing with his phone, yearning for the buzz of company.
A silence hung between them, the kind that often settled in their conversations—a silence that Jack reveled in and Mike always rushed to fill.
“You ever feel… lonely?” Mike asked, breaking the stillness, his voice tinged with curiosity. “You know, with all this… solitude?”
Jack turned his head slightly, a faint smile curving at the edge of his lips. He let the question linger in the air for a moment, savoring it, as if it were a delicate note in a symphony.
“Lonely?” he repeated softly, as if the word itself was foreign to him. “No. Not lonely. Solitude… it’s where I find myself most alive.”
Mike tilted his head, puzzled. “Alive? I don’t get it. Doesn’t it feel… empty?”
Jack looked out toward the river again, his eyes tracing the gentle current. “Being alone isn’t emptiness. It’s freedom. It’s clarity.” He paused, as if searching for the right words. “When you’re alone, you hear your own voice, your own thoughts, without the noise of others drowning them out. It’s in those quiet moments that I find strength. I don’t need anyone to tell me who I am. Solitude makes me independent. I belong only to myself.”
Mike frowned slightly, his fingers curling around the soft blades of grass. “I don’t know, man. That sounds… kinda cold. Don’t you ever feel like you’re missing out? Like, the best memories I have are with people—laughing, sharing stories, feeling connected. That’s where I find happiness, you know?”
Jack’s smile deepened, but his eyes stayed distant, lost in the slow dance of the water. “Happiness?” he echoed. “I suppose it depends on what you’re looking for. I find peace in the quiet. When I’m alone, I don’t have to compromise. I don’t have to shape myself around others’ needs or desires. There’s a strength in solitude. A kind of self-reliance that teaches you more about who you are than any conversation could.”
Mike leaned forward, his voice animated with warmth. “But that’s the thing, Jack! Conversations, connection—that’s what makes life richer. When I’m with people, I feel alive because I’m sharing something bigger than myself. It’s the laughter, the arguments, even the chaos. That’s where joy comes from—from knowing you’re part of something. We weren’t meant to be alone. You find yourself in others, not just in your own head.”
Jack’s gaze finally shifted, meeting Mike’s with a quiet intensity. “And maybe that’s true for you. But I don’t need others to feel whole. When I’m alone, I can breathe, unburdened by expectations, by the need to perform. There’s a purity in solitude that gives me strength, a way of knowing myself without distractions.”
Mike smiled, but it was a smile of disbelief, soft and kind. “Maybe. But for me? It’s the people. It’s the noise, the messiness, the imperfections. That’s where life is. When I’m surrounded by others, I feel… I feel seen. I feel loved.”
The river flowed on, unhurried, carrying their words away into the fading light. Jack turned back toward the horizon, where the last rays of the sun kissed the earth goodbye.
And for a moment, they sat together—two souls gazing at the same scene, each seeing a different world.