The Personal Ad (standard:romance, 3996 words)
Author: Sfbaywriter	Added: Feb 15 2002	Views/Reads: 3274/2210	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Can the internet and a few words bring together two people?

Thom gazed at his computer tentatively. He needed to try something; it
had been too long since he had been with someone. Recently each passing 
day created more of a hunger inside of him, a longing to be with 
someone. Staring at young lovers walking together laughing and telling 
each other secrets, they only knew was becoming more and more painful 
for him. Thom had also noticed a loss of his passion for his work; it 
suddenly felt diminished in its importance. Feeling lonely had become 
something he felt too often. 

Deciding to publish a personal ad had been a difficult decision. He felt
it was totally out of character and he assumed personal ads were for 
people unable to cope socially with members of the opposite sex or who 
had some deep seeded personality dysfunction. Weeks went by as he tried 
to talk himself out of placing the ad. Finally, unable to deal with the 
growing sense of emotional conflict he decided to try one. So now, he 
was sitting in the dark staring at the words he had written. Once more 
reviewing and editing the ad, "for the 13th time," he said to himself. 
He needed to express the precise words and thoughts when seen would 
compel her to reply. Thom sat back, took a deep breath and hit the 
enter key.  Leaning back on his chair, feeling relief, hope, and lonely 
all one and the same, he got up and turned on some music to calm his 
emotions. 

Liz was standing at her large front window, left arm folded over the top
of her head, face pressed against the window, observing a young couple 
stroll by. They were holding hands, laughing, and pulling themselves 
towards each other. She thought of her current lack of a love life and 
wondered when someone would find her. She wanted to feel special again. 
Where was he? Why hadn't she found him? The intensity of her thoughts 
and emotions were proving too much to deal with now. Feeling a need to 
focus on something else, she went over to her computer and sat down. 
Sitting and gazing into her screen, thinking about Julie and their 
dinner conversation.  Julie had met someone as a result of responding 
to a personal ad on the Internet. Julie told her it wasn't as unlikely 
as she thought. There were lots of people out there looking for love. 
"Jump in and try," Julie told her. What do you have to lose? 

Liz thought about this for awhile. The ideal of meeting someone this way
seemed absurd to her. She knew in the entire world, there might be a 
handful of people she would connect with romantically. She considered 
herself a very selective person. How could she expect to look at a few 
words in an ad, respond, and meet someone capable of changing her life? 
Her loneliness felt like a weight to her though and as each day passed, 
it seemed heavier. "Ok, what do I have to lose," she said out loud, she 
decided to scan some ads. She looked at all the ads once, quickly, and 
did not see any particularly captivating ads. She laughed to herself. 
How could she expect to see a few words and know enough about someone 
to feel like she should take a chance? 

Sitting back and considering how happy Julie was encouraged Liz to brush
aside her uncertainties, so again she scanned the ads. This time, she 
saw his ad. She could not believe she had missed it the first time. He 
desired someone happy but still in search of someone to fill an 
important void. He spoke of passion, discovery, romance, and love. She 
found herself drawn to one sentence in particular.  He was searching 
for something not ordinary in any way.  She sat back and stared at the 
words again, astonished, as he had captured what she desired. 

Thom sat down and logged in to check for replies. There was one. His
heart raced as he read her response. It was a simple response. "I am 
what you are looking for".  He sat back and stared at the response. 
"That was all she could say?" His mind raced.  What did this say about 
her? Why didn't she reveal anything to him? He logged off and went to 
bed. 

Thom lay in bed thinking about his life.  How did he end up so lonely?
He had many friends. He had been with a number of different women and 
had fallen in love once before. Everyone told him to be patient. 
Someone was out there waiting. He wondered often where she was and when 
his search would finish. He thought about the response he had received. 
At least someone had decided his words were interesting enough to 
respond. 

Thom could not sleep so he decided to get up. Into his kitchen he walked
and opened a bottle of Merlot. He took a sip, smiled and decided to 


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