Zara
ok PLEASE tell me you saw her story before it disappeared
Η ψυχολόγος μου ακολουθεί τον πρώην μου
Η Ζάρα στέλνει κατά λάθος μήνυμα σε μια εντελώς άγνωστη, νομίζοντας ότι είναι η κολλητή της — αλλά όταν η άγνωστη αποδεικνύεται ότι ακολουθεί τον πρώην της ΚΑΙ την ψυχολόγο της στο Instagram, τα πράγματα περιπλέκονται ξεκαρδιστικά.
Φόρτωση εργαλείων μετάφρασης…
Zara
she posted a photo with HIM. in the café we used to go to. with the little heart-shaped lamps. Priya tell me you saw it
Dee
hi?? I think you have the wrong number lol
Zara
...wait. you're not Priya.
Dee
I am very much not Priya 😭 I'm Dee. Your contact probably has a similar profile picture or something?
Zara
oh god. I'm so sorry. please forget everything I said
Dee
impossible. my brain has already committed every detail to memory
Dee
also... heart-shaped lamps café is a very specific detail. is this about an ex?
Zara
...yes. but I'm not going to talk about it with a stranger, thanks 😭
Dee
fair enough. go find your Priya. hope you're ok though, genuinely
Zara
thank you. sorry again for the random panic dump
Zara finally reached Priya, vented for forty-five minutes, and then spent the rest of the evening doom-scrolling. The next morning, she opened Instagram — and froze.
Zara
ok so. weird follow-up question and you can absolutely ignore this
Zara
your instagram handle. is it @dee.makes.things?
Dee
...yes? why does that feel ominous
Zara
because. and I need you to stay calm. you follow my ex.
Dee
I follow like 800 people. I follow a man who only posts photos of his sourdough bread
Zara
his name is Marcus. @marcusrunscities. he posts running routes and oat milk opinions
Dee
oh my god I do follow him. he reviewed seven brands of oat milk in one reel. it was weirdly compelling
Zara
see that is EXACTLY the kind of thing he does and it's annoyingly charming and I KNOW, I KNOW
Dee
ok but this is a small world coincidence, not a conspiracy. why are you looking through his followers?
Zara
I wasn't looking through his followers!! I was looking through mine. YOU followed ME first apparently
Dee
oh! yeah I sometimes follow people from mutual accounts. that's probably it
Zara
right. so we have a mutual account.
Zara
which one
Dee
let me check...
Dee
ok don't freak out
Zara
Dee. you have three seconds
Dee
@calm.mind.with.dr.chen
Zara
.
Zara
..
Zara
that's my THERAPIST'S account
Dee
I KNOW. I'm in therapy too!! she's great! very calming voice!
Zara
so let me get this straight. you follow my ex, you see my ex's followers, you follow me, you text me by accident, and we share a therapist
Dee
when you put it like that it sounds like a Netflix show
Zara
Ok so here is what is messing with me — Dr. Chen always says, 'trust that the right connections find you,' and I always thought that was just something therapists say to sound deep? But now I'm wondering if she somehow engineered this. It's completely irrational, I know, but she follows Marcus. She follows my ex! Does she follow all her clients' exes?? Is that a thing?!
Dee
she has 4,000 followers. she's a semi-public wellness account. Marcus probably found her too and that's how she found him 😭
Dee
also... have you considered that maybe YOU follow too many people connected to your ex and that might be the actual issue here 😬
Zara
wow you sound exactly like Dr. Chen
Dee
maybe she told us the same things and it stuck lol
Zara
ok I need to send you something. this is either going to make you feel better or make everything significantly worse
Zara
📷
Zara
she only follows 312 people. Marcus is one of them.
Dee
ok
Dee
ok that IS a little weird
Zara
THANK YOU. validation accepted.
Dee
are you going to ask her about it?? in your next session??
Zara
I have a session on Thursday. I have been thinking about nothing else for the last ten minutes.
Dee
right. so instead of spiraling alone, here is a useful reframe: does it actually change anything? or does it just feel uncomfortable because it blurs a boundary you thought was clear?
Zara
...Dr. Chen literally said that to me. word for word. last month.
Dee
lmaooo she said it to me too. two weeks ago.
Zara
she has a script. she absolutely has a script.
Dee
I mean... they're trained. they have methods. it's not a secret conspiracy, it's like... a treatment approach
Zara
you're reasonable and I don't fully trust it
Dee
that is the most therapist-patient thing anyone has ever said to me and I'm honoured
Zara's Thursday session arrived. She walked into Dr. Chen's office with a list of bullet points in her notes app. Two hours later, she texted Dee.
Zara
I asked her.
Dee
NO. you actually asked?? what did she say???
Zara
she said she follows accounts related to urban wellness and running because she runs marathons. she found him through a running hashtag. no drama. completely innocent.
Dee
and then?
Zara
and then she asked why it bothered me so much that the boundaries between different parts of my life were overlapping. and we spent the rest of the session talking about Marcus.
Zara
which was probably the point. she's very good.
Dee
she really is 😭
Zara
she also said — and I quote — 'it sounds like this stranger you spoke to helped you process something in a more honest way than you expected'
Dee
she knows about me?!
Zara
she knows a version of you. the version who sounds weirdly like her.
Dee
Ok I have to say — this whole situation started because you sent a panic message to the wrong person at seven in the evening about heart-shaped lamps, and now we're connected through your ex, your therapist, AND Instagram. Honestly? I think Dr. Chen would call that 'meaningful.' I'm just going to come out and say it — do you want to actually be friends? Like, intentionally this time? If the universe went through this much effort to introduce us, the least we can do is get coffee.
Zara
...I cannot believe you just asked me out for coffee by referencing the universe and Dr. Chen in the same breath
Dee
I was nervous ok. I've been in therapy long enough to know I need to actually say the thing instead of hinting at it
Zara
ok yes. coffee. yes.
Zara
not at the heart-shaped lamps café though. just to be clear.
Dee
obviously not. I have standards 😭