I Spent My Whole Break Staring at a Delivery App Just to See a Map of People Moving

Dear Delyara, I spent my whole break staring at a delivery app just to see a map of people moving. It is 2:45 AM, and the silence in this gatehouse is so thick it feels like it’s choking me. I didn't even want food, but I opened a food delivery app on my phone and just watched the little digital icons of drivers moving through the streets of central London. I watched a tiny motorcycle icon trace its way down a street, stop at a restaurant, and move toward an apartment building. I did it for forty-five minutes because I needed to feel connected to a world where human beings were active, talking, and interacting. Out here, I am completely marooned in a sea of gravel and wire. When the app timed out and the screen went black, the realization of how pathetically desperate I am for any sign of human life made me want to bury my face in my hands and sleep for a year.