“Okay.”

I find this guy’s profile online. His picture is his mugshot. He says he’s “dangerous” and that the government tracks his “internet and phone activity.” So, obviously, I’m curious. Obviously, I decide I’d like to sit down to a drink with him. I send him a message. He lives 200 miles away. How did this guy get on my radar when he lives 200 miles away?! He invites me to come visit him. Somehow, this just doesn’t seem like a smart idea so I politely decline by saying, “I don’t travel to visit people I’ve never met before.” I’m expecting some asshole remark, considering his profile says, “don’t waste my fucking time by not typing to me within a few days.” But all he says is “okay.” Okay. This little person inside of me suddenly *THINKS* it can hear the deflation in his message. Like, I’ve let him down in some way. I can sense the depth in his response- all of the layers of emotion he’s trying to convey (or hide) with a simple, “okay.” He’s a lost soul. A stray puppy. A wounded eagle. A beached whale. Just looking for a chance at redemption. And looking in all the wrong places. I could help him (save him even!) if I just travelled this short distance to hear his story, to a town in which I don’t know a single soul. But I know his soul. I can feel it. “Okay.” Never mind that the big person inside of me thinks this guy is sailing on a boat with nothing but red flags. But this smaller person thinks it can sense so much more because of this one word response. And then both people, the smaller one and the bigger one, come together and yell “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” And just like that, I move along to the next profile.