Pari - The Digital Lobster

“Hang in there, it’s gonna happen!”

“How do you know?”

“Because she’s your Lobster!”

Well, Phoebe knew what she was talking, even when Chandler made fun of her theory and Ross was in disbelief. It took them ten years alright, but Ross and Rachel definitely were each other’s lobsters!

If Friends would have happened in this age of social media, they all would certainly have a few lobsters waiting around in their tanks for them to get there somehow. The magnanimity of the internet is at such scale that it is possible for a person you have never met before, and probably will never meet to share a friendship that feels deeper than the one’s you have with people physically closer to you.

A small but a beautiful city in the eastern part of the World named Grace Town unfolded one such story! It happens to be one of the cleanest cities in the World even though it inhabits many industries. Engineering is at the heart of this wonderful city. But what makes it beautiful isn’t the innovation and the passion for work, Grace Town is adorable because of the people who live there. Sweet, caring, grateful - they are the nicest people you will meet. But what stands out is their empathy towards a fellow human being. Though it is a city, you’d get a feeling of an old village looking at its row houses, and the narrow roads. Even the people fondly call it “our village” when they speak about it.

In one such row house, lives a girl with a dream to conquer the world. If there is one possible explanation of why the city was named Grace Town, it could be her! She is almost like an Angel. Her parents quite rightly had named her Pari. Have you ever felt positive by just looking at someone? She is that. The twinkle in her eyes, and the lovely smile - it is like getting an adrenaline shot full of positivity when she passes by. Simple, yet so classy. And on her days, when she feels like getting all dolled up, her grace defines the whole town!

Pari, who’s going through a quarter-life crisis perhaps, is not like your ordinary damsel in distress. She had already spread her wings wide and done something so noble by the time she turned 25, that even an Angel would fall short of her magic. Pari became a doctor, and now she is studying further to become a specialist. How does she do it? You’ll never know. But it takes a lot of grit, integrity and patience to spend almost the quarter of your life just studying, only to spend the rest of your life dedicated to serve humanity! Only Angels could do that.

Remember how stupid and curious everyone is in their teenage years? Pari was never that. She was a smart bright kid. While the rest of the world was trying to figure out how Twitter worked, she was writing verses in 140 characters casting a spell on the world. If the smile on her face was beautiful, her writing would mesmerise everyone reading it. Twitter was never about the looks. Twitter is for people who can write and understand a few more words than the ones on Facebook. And through her thoughts, Pari amassed a good amount of followers, and a few of them became her good friends. 

The concept of pen-pals ceased to exist once the internet was discovered. Emails took over letters and the instantaneous world kept moving at a pace which didn’t allow you to register your own life. But the wheel kept moving, and soon social media was discovered. Pen-pals were gone but now we had millions and millions of strangers eager to talk to us, just at our fingertips. Apps like twitter connected like-minded people from different parts of the world - and Pari had also met one such connection, not far away from her land.

It’s been almost seven years, Pari knew a lot of things about Rohan but she still failed to figure out if she’ll have to look up while talking to him when she was in her heels. Yes, they haven’t met in seven years. No, wait, they have never met in life, ever! But, they were there for each other when life took twists and turns, in love and in sadness, through thick and thin. They stuck with each other, at times when they needed someone the most. They knew, if they ever felt lonely in a group of people, they had someone to make them feel better with a virtual hug. 

Rohan was one of the guys who was attracted to Pari because of her thoughtfulness and her practical yet philosophical approach to life. She was one of a kind he thought. After days of retweeting, replying and subtweeting each other, Rohan gathered the strength to slide into her DM. He sent a nervous “hi” to begin a friendship that is still pure and based on sharing. Pari was kind enough to reply to him there and then began a journey- the first of its kind in the digital age!

Soon they were greeting each other on WhatsApp. Texting was now replaced with some casual flirting. “Nice DP!” Pari had once texted Rohan. To which he responded, “it could have been better if you were in it with me!” She blushed. She would have struggled to hide the red on her cheeks if he was there in person. But it was for his own good, Rohan would have struggled to say another word looking at her glow.

They still don’t have a picture together, but they have pictured a world full of health and happiness together. The countless number of nights they have fallen asleep talking to each other made up for the distance they had between them. After all, why does anyone need a partner, a soulmate? It’s not because you can’t take care of yourself. But a soulmate is someone who would make you love yourself in a way you never thought was possible. Pari made Rohan understand how uniquely gifted he is whenever he felt low. While Rohan made her realise what her existence means to the world. They were just normal human beings, but they felt important while talking to each other.

Did they love each other? Love didn’t seem like a viable option. They were soulmates. A different kind. The Internet brought them to life, and the internet made it possible for a man to have someone to fall back to when the world disappeared on him. While for Pari, she was meant for great things, always. But her true greatness lies in what she is as a person. You’ll meet a lot of people in life, but you have to be extremely lucky to meet someone like her. Maybe she is really an Angel, Rohan would never know.

If the internet allowed to gawk at couples like people do in real life, they would wonder if something was going on between Pari and Rohan. Because they really are soulmates. Not sure if Rohan will ever find one in real life, but Pari was definitely his lobster in the virtual world.