I had a lovely conversation and still felt flat afterward

Dear Delyara, That is always such a strange feeling. The conversation itself was nice. Warm, even. The person was kind, interesting, engaged. Nothing went wrong, and yet when it ended I still felt emotionally unsatisfied in a way I couldn’t fully explain. Not disappointed in them. Just aware that being spoken with and being reached are not always the same thing. Maybe I was too tired to receive it fully. Maybe I needed something more specific than what the evening offered. Maybe loneliness is sometimes not a lack of company but a mismatch between the kind of company available and the kind of tenderness actually needed. I don’t know. I just know that I got off the phone and still felt alone.