The twenty-one days of isolation from the world ended all too quickly. I was back among the living.

After five intense years of building my business, I had finally caught up on sleep—and maybe, just maybe, rediscovered a bit of balance.

Onboard the ship, I started practicing yoga again—something I hadn’t done in a long time.

Once I returned to land, I signed up for an Instagram account. I’d met a lot of people on that trip, and, well, I needed a way to stay in touch. I’m usually too lazy for social media—until then, I’d only ever used WeChat, which is mostly popular with Chinese speakers. Before disembarking, several foreign passengers asked how to keep in touch, and I didn’t have anything to offer. So, in a hurry, I created a new account.

Most of the people I added were crew members I’d met during the voyage. I rarely add strangers, so I just added a couple of Chinese guests.

Back home, I started posting here and there. Nothing much—just glimpses from the 25-day journey I took through South America after Antarctica.

At the time, I had just booked my trip to the Arctic for the following year.

My posts were sparse—tiny postcards from my new life. Occasionally, some of my long-time clients from WeChat would jump the firewall and place an order.

That Antarctic trip had sparked something in me—maybe even the idea of “retirement.”

With almost no real-life friends following my new account, posting on Instagram became a quiet kind of freedom.

I began to notice that there was one person who liked every post I shared. He always seemed to be the first one to watch my stories, too.

But I had no idea who he was.

I’m not someone who makes the first move. Even after noticing his quiet attention, I didn’t dare break the silence.

And so it went, from the end of 2019 all the way to Lunar New Year of 2021.

In that time, we lived through a global pandemic together—but apart.

I returned to China in March 2020, and by May, I was already traveling around the country. I posted photos from those journeys only on Instagram. His “likes” were always there.

Then, during the 2021 Lunar New Year, he finally messaged me.

“Hi, what messaging app do people use in China? I’d like to stay in touch with a friend. Wishing you good luck.”

I replied:

“Hi, Jerry, Everyone here uses WeChat. Happy Chinese New Year!