In so few words

Ezekiel had a few online friends, with whom he'd chat every day. But one of these people was special to him. She was his internet girlfriend. He'd often spend ever night talking to her. They knew everything about each other, and had been together for a month now.

"One day, sweetie, I will visit you." Ezekiel typed onto his computer. "I promise."

"You're sweet 3" She types back. Her screen name is DakotaDriver. "How bout sendin me a pic someday, so I know what ya look like?"

Ezekiel spent a few days taking pictures of himself, his house, everything he could think of. He excitedly uploaded them unto his computer. "Here's a few pictures. Hope you like them!"

He uploads the pictures. He excitedly awaits her reaction. At that moment, she logs out. Ezekiel waits for her. And he waits. And waits some more. An hour passes. Then another. His mother calls him for dinner. He types 'be right back'. It is now 8 PM. He goes back to his computer, and waits. Still no reply. It is 4 in the morning. His father enters his room, telling him it is time to feed the chickens.

That afternoon, Ezekiel goes back to his computer. He turns on his messenger. A message appears: "DakotaDriver has dissolved your friendship".

Ezekiel is crestfallen. "Must have been a hacker, eh?"

And he waits. A day passes. He keeps sending her messages. 'Please tell me you are okay.' 'I want to know if you are doing well.' 'Did your computer get hacked?'

One day, after sending a message that read 'I love you', he gets this response: "This user has placed you on their blocked list."

Stunned, Ezekiel turns off his computer. He sits there, taking it all in. Finally, he does the only thing he can do: he cries.