Dear friend that I do not know,

I find myself in speculation about you often. 

How could I love you so much when I cannot see you? 

I cannot see the radiance in your eyes when you see your favorite television character. I can only visualize the smirk dancing across your lips when you tease and poke fun at me. The tears that roll down your cheeks as you spill a tragic story are invisible.

How could I love you so much when I cannot hear you?

I cannot hear the laughter leaping from your heart when I make a ridiculous pun. I can only read your daily tale as a storybook rather than listen to it verbatim. Your sharp tone when you’re boiling over but telling me it’s okay is inaudible.

How could I love you so much when I do not know who you are?

I cannot tell if you are who you say you are, what your age is, where you are from, or if you are the gender you have presented yourself as.

How do I know you are the person I have grown to love?

Many things are between us: computer screens, lakes, fields, woods, perhaps even oceans. Whether you are across the country or the world, the difference is insignificant to me.

I don’t need to see you.

Your words display your smile, sketching it in my brain. Your smirk is visible through the flippant letters you type, painting the picture with bright colors. Your sad sentences slip from your face onto your keyboard, highlighting and shading the painting.

I don’t need to hear you.

Your upbeat abbreviations warm my effervescent heart. Your bouncy, exuberant tone when you talk about the boy you like is clear as the air that separates us. Your words—serrated and cold—sting my ears as they travel from my eyes.

I don’t need to know who you are.

You are my friend. I love the person you say you are; to me, you are the lifesaver in the excessive ocean of arguments.

You are the one who never fails to send me amusing GIFs and adorable pictures. My voice gets drowned out at times, but with you around, it always feels like an executive order.

You are the one who I know so well yet do not know at all.

Until you are no longer that person, I will love you.

From your friend who you do not know, 

Eva.