I was a student when social media got popular. I tried searching my own name and discovered there was someone living in my prefecture who had the same first and last name as me?although it was written with different kanji. We were the same age and both of our families had a Dachshund. They were even both named Choco! I couldn’t help but send a message, and we both became online friends.
A few years later, I was on a date on Christmas Eve at Huis Ten Bosch in Nagasaki and we were sitting on a bench. A girl came up and sat down next to us, and I noticed she looked familiar. I mustered up the courage to greet her, and sure enough, she was the online friend with my name. I couldn’t believe we met in a crowded theme park outside of the prefecture where we lived. We both squealed in delight at the amazing Christmas miracle. It was a precious day that I’ll never forget. Over ten years have passed since then, and we’ve both since gotten married and changed our names, but to this day we exchange new year’s greetings over social media.

(mai)