Welcome!

Two things happened yesterday that forced me to rethink how I relate with people. My day started slowly at work. A little before noon, I received a call from Alex, an old university course mate and an irregular caller. We laughed about our school days until I asked after Kate, the lady who proofread my final year thesis. I still had her number on my phone, though I had not called her in three years. I even bragged about keeping it.

Alex went quiet for a moment, then told me she had died the previous year from maternal complications. My day dimmed immediately.

The second incident came later. A former crush called. I hesitated, watching the phone ring like it was a strange object. On the third ring, I picked up.

Me: Hey Peju, how are you?
Peju: Fine, Oliver. And you? You sound good.
Me: I am well. How is work and family? And why the call?
Peju: Why should I have your number saved if I cannot call you?

Her words landed with weight. I had kept Kate’s number for years and never reached out. Not once. Not even a simple check-in.

We praise mobile phones and the internet for making life easier, and they have. Yet they have also weakened real connection. Even love, attention and friendship now pass through screens. Everything has shifted.

I once reduced my Facebook friends because I struggled to keep up with seventy five people, let alone seven hundred and fifty.

So here is my plea. Scroll through your phone book. Call someone you used to care about. That call might be the last chance you ever get.