As far back as I can remember, I've always had a hard time making friends. I don't dislike people, quite the opposite. I would love to be able to make friends, hang out and spend my weekends with girlfriends. The thing is, when I speak with a stranger, I always end up having shortness of breath and a racing heart, I don't know why. My doctor calls it social anxiety. I have absolutely no control over it and it's ruining my life. People sometimes tell me "just don't be shy" and "You shouldn't be afraid, just do it." Of course, that doesn't help me: speaking doesn't make social anxiety disappear.

A few months ago I read an article about an app that generates walking routes. You download it, you think hard about what you're looking or hoping for and the app finds you a walk. If you're very lucky, you eventually find something interesting. I was curious and I downloaded the app to see if it worked. The following Saturday, I told my parents I was going out, I turned on the app, and I concentrated on a friendship.

I must say, this short walk was very pleasant. I always loved walking in nature among trees. However, when the voice said: "you have arrived", I was alone in a small, quiet place. I searched a bit and couldn't find anyone. I wouldn't find a friend here.

I had a weird dream the following night. I was in this place, it was raining, the wind was blowing and there was a little boy curled up on the ground, crying. He looked at me and said, "Please help me." I was so scared that I woke up with a start.

I thought it was no big deal but I had the same dream every following night. It was so upsetting and I became afraid of sleeping. However, I was sure that I had never seen this child. What did that mean? What was the meaning of that dream?

*

I wanted to try another walk with this app the following Saturday. It sent me to the same place. I asked for other routes but it only suggested me this one over and over again. It pissed me off so much that I uninstalled the app. I also sent a message to their website to tell them politely that a little variety in their routes wouldn't hurt. No one answered me.

I dreamed of that little boy again the next night. He was in tears and he kept saying, "Please, free me. I'm alone and afraid. My parents are worried sick and so is Laura." I looked at my hands and they were covered in dirt.

I knew what I had to do when I woke up. I downloaded the app again and I asked for a walk. It showed me the now familiar itinerary. I took a shovel and I started digging the place where I saw the little boy in my dreams. I wasn't sure if what I was doing was legal but I felt I had no choice. I ended up digging up a trash bag. I could tell at first sight that there was the pieces of a human body inside.

Then I remember I called my parents. I was in panic. They arrived and they called the police. I had to give them my phone and explain that the app brought me here again and again. I was scared and I wondered if I was going to end up in prison. However, they eventually sent me home. A teenage girl who panics at the slightest interaction is hardly the ideal suspect in a murder case.

I dreamed of the little boy again the following night. He wasn't crying any more but his eyes were still red with tears. The rain had stopped and he told me: "Thank you. Can I stay with you a bit longer?" I said yes, of course.

A few days later, the police called us back. The body belonged to little Tom Chateauneuf, age nine, who disappeared a few months ago. DNA analysis identified his killer. According to the policeman who spoke to me, if I hadn't found this trash bag, they probably wouldn't have been able to find the murderer. I was sad and horrified but at the same time I felt relieved I had helped stop a killer.

I was also told that Tom's parents and big sister wanted to meet me in a café. I said yes and my parents came with me. I was super awkward and I didn't know what to say. His dad said he was sad to know that Tom was dead but relieved that whoever did this to him was going to jail. His mother said the trial would start soon, that they would go through with it, for Tom. After a while I got up and said I had social anxiety and I had to get out. Then Laura said something I'll never forget: "Tom also had social anxiety." My heart sank. That couldn't be a coincidence.

I left the café and I saw Tom standing on the sidewalk opposite, shrouded in light. He was wearing snow-white pajamas, smiling and waving goodbye. A truck passed in front of him and when it left, Tom was no longer there. I like to think he's in heaven.

*

Things could have ended there but Laura found my name on a social network and contacted me again. We talked a lot and she told me that she too had dreamed a lot about Tom. In his last dream, he told her "You have always been the best sister but I have to go. I want you to meet my friend Alice."

Alice is my name.

That's how I met my best friend.