I met a stranger

Chapter 3 - social media

One morning…

“Big brother?” my sister asked.
“Yes?” I replied.
“Why don’t you use Instagram?” she asked.
“Mnn, nahi hota,” I said.
“Aree, you should use social media! You can make international friends over there and it will be so much fun. You can even post some of your pictures,” she said.
“Acchaa…” I replied.
“Yes, you can make reels too!” she added.
“Ohhh, I’ll make edits then,” I said.
“Yeah, whatever… it’s your choice,” she shrugged.

I saw a lot of people using social media, so I asked myself, why not me?

A few weeks later, I finally made my social media account—but it was just a fanpage, not a personal account. I posted edits and reels, and to my surprise, people actually liked them.

Sometimes, people asked, “Do you have your own personal account?”
I would usually reply, “No, I don’t.”

Then one day, someone asked me again, “Why don’t you make your own personal account?”
“Should I?” I thought.
“Yeah, you should,” I replied to myself.
“Ok,” I decided.

The next morning, I opened Instagram and created my personal account. I love nature, so I posted pictures and videos of everything nature-related. Slowly, I made some friends. Most of them were nice, some were mean—but that’s life.

One day, while checking my account, I saw a new inbox request.
I opened it. It was an anonymous message:
“Hi.”
I replied, “Hey.”
“Do I know you?” I asked.
“I don’t think so,” the person said. “I just saw your fanpage reels and I liked them.”
“Thanks,” I said.

The conversation continued, and soon I realized the person was a boy.

At first, I noticed he was showing interest in me… and honestly… that was awkward (⁠@⁠_⁠@⁠).
I am straight, so I told him. But he was too clingy.
I blocked him.

You’d think that would be the end, right? Heck no! (⁠╥⁠﹏⁠╥⁠)
Soon, he created new accounts and kept messaging me. I was so frustrated. I knew nothing would work, so I came up with a plan:
I told him I wasn’t a boy… I was a girl… and that I had started liking him.

He actually believed me. He said he liked boys… and I never saw him again 💀
Ahhh… such a relief.

Now, you might think boys don’t face harassment. But the answer is—YES.
We also get molested. We don’t get seats in buses and trains. We are told not to cry. And the worst part? Sometimes, we can’t even tell anyone, because people will just make fun.

So yeah… boys suffer too. 

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