I met mary entirely by chance. She had signed up for, and was a frequent visitor for three days of, the Vine & Fig Slack channel. While we’re both cradle Catholics and linguists, Mary’s life couldn’t be more different from mine. Still, we bonded quickly and deeply over our shared interest in doing good, being true, and seeing beauty.

My friendship with Mary is one that shows me it’s entirely capable to sustain friendships that exist purely because and within the confines of the Internet.

Who knows, maybe we’ll see each other in real life one day.