It all started with Leshay glancing at her phone. As she scrolled through her WhatsApp status viewers, a familiar name kept popping up again: Gareth Cloete. Initially, she dismissed it, chalking it up to her cousin, conveniently also named Gareth Cloete. They existed as digital ghosts to each other, never exchanging a word.
Then, August 18th, 2024, dawned. Gareth's status announced his 21st birthday. A bold thought sparked in Leshay's mind. This could be my chance, she reasoned, typing out a simple "Happy Birthday." Gareth replied with a polite "Thank you," and Leshay, suddenly shy, merely reacted to the message with a heart emoji.
"Conversation over." Or so she thought.
Nearly a month later, on September 14th, a strange impulse took hold. Leshay messaged Gareth, blurting out, "We're family!" The words hung in the digital air, even she wasn't entirely sure if she was speaking to "the Gareth Cloete (her cousin)". On the other side of the screen, Gareth was utterly bewildered. A stranger, someone he'd never exchanged a real conversation with, claiming familial ties? His response was immediate: "What are you talking about? Send me a picture." Panic welled up inside Leshay. The horrifying realization that she'd mistaken a complete stranger for a family member washed over her. Mortified by her impulsive act and the potential embarrassment, she made a swift decision: complete silence. She ignored his request, letting the message sit unanswered.
Days turned into weeks. The digital gap between them widened. The silence stretched, thick and heavy, almost a full month passing without another word. Leshay had written it off as a bizarre, embarrassing incident, destined to be forgotten. But fate, it seemed, had other plans for two people who started as status viewers and were unknowingly on a path to something much deeper.