I was awakened around one in the morning to a text message that I only half noticed. I’m used to getting messages at odd times, either because people forget that my time zone is however many hours behind theirs, or from organizations that I want to hear information and they message me based on my Eastern US time zone phone number.

At 7:30 my phone rang with a number whose area code matched mine. I knew it was a wrong number, and fully expected my usual caller (have I ever told you about my “grandmother” who calls quite frequently?), but found myself on the other line with a young man who obviously felt awkward about asking for the name with whom he asked to speak. I told him it was a wrong number and hung up, then got up and started my day. He called again a little after 9, and this time I tried my best to sound pleasant, but let him know (again) that he had a wrong number.

Then I checked my text messages.

I found a very simple but very sweet message from this guy (addressed to the same name he’s trying to find) with an image of a heart surrounded by roses, wishing this girl a very happy birthday with many more to come.

So now I’m wondering…

Did she give him a wrong number on purpose? If so then it’s a little bit tragic that he’s trying so desperately to just wish her a happy birthday. I can imagine him sitting at home, spending his day wanting nothing more than for her to notice him, for her to realize that he doesn’t just want to be her friend, that he cares very much for her… and to keep getting me on the other end.

On the other hand, maybe he mistyped her number into his phone. Maybe he’s still sitting there, thinking that she gave him the wrong number on purpose and feeling wretched about everything, when she’s sitting at home wondering why she hasn’t heard from him and what has kept him from wishing her a happy birthday. Maybe she’s as lonely as he is and wants nothing more than to know he cares.

And maybe I’m imagining too much into their lives, and maybe there’s nothing more to the story than a simple wrong number, but I wonder how many times in our lives things just happen and we don’t think to look at the bigger picture.

I hope they find one another and I hope they are happy. I really do.