There are times in a person’s life when they really need a stranger. Even if you share your broken feelings with them, there is no fear of being unsettled. That time came into my life too. That was when I realized that, from time to time, it is necessary to share the words left unsaid with someone and lighten the weight within yourself a little. Here, gender is not what matters; what matters is trustworthiness. I tried X, HelloTalk, Facebook, and a few other social media platforms to find someone like that, but the experience was bitter. Almost two and a half months passed this way. I had no idea what to do. Suddenly, I thought of asking AI if there was any platform where I could connect with older people. It asked me various questions to understand exactly what I was looking for. Later, it suggested seven apps, including Slowly, and explained what kind of platform each one was. That was when Slowly caught my attention.
I’m not very good at English, so I have to rely on AI to properly understand anything. I was worried that with only a little English, I wouldn’t be able to talk to people from around the world! Every translator translates things in its own way, so the original meaning often changes a lot. That’s why I can’t fully trust any translator. Here, English is a compulsory subject worth 200 marks up to the HSC level. Even so, I don’t know English well; the subject has always been difficult for me. I now use three translators to accurately convey my words. I translate with all of them and compare each translation with the others, working in small sections. Honestly, I spend a lot of time on a single letter (I’m even learning some English). Still, I’m very happy to be writing on a reliable platform like Slowly! That’s the story of how I found Slowly. Thank you to the person who came up with the idea for creating such a unique platform and to the entire team behind it.
Right from the start, I met many people here; five of them still write regularly, while the rest have disappeared. Now I have several pen pals with wonderful minds and personalities from different countries. Everyone’s conversation is so sincere and fluent, it doesn’t feel like we grew up in different cultures. We talk in such a way that it feels like we are childhood playmates. I am really overwhelmed; I didn’t think I would find so many amazing pen pals here so quickly.
Toward the end of last April, I fell ill. While I was still unwell, I had an accident on May 4th. I suffered injuries to various parts of my body in the accident, especially to my head. The head injury was very serious. I was completely bedridden for over a month. Since the head injury was severe, it took me some time to recover. My face and eyes were so swollen that I couldn’t even open them. I had an unbearable headache. At that time, I was unable to reply to letters, so many letters piled up. I would send a message to someone I really needed to write to. When I began to feel a bit better, I gradually started letting everyone know, as briefly as possible, the reason for my delay in replying to their letters. From everyone I informed, I received such warmth, sympathy, and prayers that I was deeply moved. My heartfelt gratitude and thanks to all of them. Throughout this long period of illness, three pen pals stood by me. I would like to say a little about them separately. All three are American.
One person used to write letters at regular intervals, but replied promptly upon hearing the news of the illness. He asked whether I had any symptoms of a concussion, what eye drops I was using, and regularly offered advice. He is Tim. He stood by me during my difficult time with encouragement, advice, and emotional strength until I recovered. I feel truly proud and grateful to have someone as reserved and responsible as Tim as my pen pal. His personality, humanity, sense of responsibility, and sincerity are the qualities that make him truly special to me. Tim is my first pen pal on Slowly. Thank you, Tim, for still writing to me regularly.
Keith himself is unwell and has been battling high blood pressure for a long time. Even so, he was concerned about my illness. By nature, Keith is a soft-hearted, fun-loving person. He tried his best to keep me cheerful even amid my illness with little jokes. His letters made me laugh despite his own pain. I am fortunate to have Keith. I am grateful to Keith for that. His greatest quality is that if any word or behavior offends him, he wants to know about it and discuss it. I respect him for his friendly nature. And for this reason, I can speak with him fearlessly and candidly about various issues in both countries. Our letters are so long that if we put them all together, they would make a novel. To be honest, Keith has inspired this stiff person (me) to laugh. Thank you, Keith. I am lucky to have found him as a pen pal.
Now I’m going to talk about a friend I consider myself lucky to have. Her name is Lulu. I don’t want to say anything more about Lulu; instead, I’ll quote some of her words—
“Well, my dear, now you have one friend… me.”
“I was really touched to hear that you’re not feeling well. Oh, I wish I could be there to help you through this.”
Lulu was on a three-week retreat where participants weren’t allowed to keep their phones: “I’m writing now because I ran out of my allergy pills. I asked if I could buy some, and they allowed me a one-hour window, and I was even able to keep my phone with me. That’s how I managed to reach out to you, dear. I can’t wait to tell you all about my retreat when I get back.”
Even though Lulu was on the other side of the world, her heart was right beside me at that time. Lulu, I am saying here something that I have never told you before: never stop writing without letting me know! Thank you so much and I’m grateful to you.
If I hadn’t been a member of the Slowly family and if that accident hadn’t happened, I might never have realized that people can stand by each other in times of trouble even when they’re thousands of miles apart! I found here a feeling I’d never experienced in my life. One day, I suddenly noticed that many letters were arriving within a short span of time. I was amazed and wondered what was going on! To be honest, I never know when my birthday comes or goes.
Because I’ve never celebrated a birthday in my life, and I don’t want to either! Receiving my first birthday wishes at this age was something truly precious to me. My heartfelt thanks to everyone for wishing me on my birthday. The messages were so enchanting that they truly gave rise to a unique feeling. One of them was especially heartwarming. I received all of this thanks to Slowly. My deepest love and respect to the Slowly family.
At this stage of my life, I never imagined that getting to know strangers would fill me with so much joy, so much gain, and so much contentment. The boundaries of my life are very small; outside my family, I am completely friendless. Slowly exists, so the ink of the pen runs dry!
Even in the midst of so much completeness, some incompleteness remains, doesn’t it?
