**Amanda**

Amanda stared at the monitor, embarrassment blocking her abilities to decode Delta's words.

She's reading your lust letter to Ian, Amanda thought. Wattpad life. Officially. Over.

[[Delta] Delta nodded to something or someone on her left and waved. Clearing her throat, she turned her attention back to Amanda. "Let me rephrase my question. How would you say words and stories have changed you as a reader?"]

Amanda placed her fingertips on the temples of her glasses and took a moment to gather her thoughts. "Where do I even begin? Words have--they've literally saved my life."

[[Delta] Delta picked up her feather pen and hovered its tip over a notepad. "Can you explain what you mean by that?"]

Anxiety swelled from the spot just below Amanda's heart--near the stomach--where it felt like her soul should be located. Her fingernails dug hard into the flesh around the cuticles causing them to bleed. Words had saved Amanda's life on several occasions, but explaining how or why groups of random letters prevented her from falling into permanent darkness was a vulnerability she didn't know how to verbalize.

"Uh--," Amanda began, uncertain what was about to fall out of her mouth. She squinted and looked up towards the ceiling on her right. "I'm not sure what I mean, exactly. I just know--sometimes--when things get--fuzzy--I want to push everyone out of my life. I'm not sure why. Maybe I can't handle the lectures. Or maybe looks of pity grate on my nerves. I don't know. I just know when things get fuzzy, I want to be alone because I feel so--fucking shitty about myself."

The last words to fall out of her mouth made Amanda's eyes double in size--like she was caught red-handed farting on the Pope.

[[Delta] Looking down, Delta scribbled furiously in her notebook.]

Amanda covered her nose and mouth with tented hands, then said, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean--. It just slipped out!"

[[Delta] "Don't even worry about it," Delta replied, waving a hand at the camera. She pointed over her shoulder with her thumb and said, "I'm pretty sure our engineers program in C-cuss-cuss." She glanced over her shoulder, then with a smirk added, "I probably shouldn't have said that. We adore our engineers--and you. We adore everything associated with Wattpad."]

Amanda smiled and released a breath containing trace amounts of awkward tension.

[[Delta] Delta's eyes softened as she tilted her head while looking into the camera. "Do you feel isolated--now?"]

It took a moment, but when Amanda's brain finally picked up what Delta was throwing down, a tidal wave of embarrassment pricked across the surface of her skin. Shaking her head and waving her hands at the laptop, Amanda pleaded, "Oh, gosh--no! I'm fine. I don't need any 1-800 numbers. I swear!"

[[Delta] Shaking a finger at the camera, Delta joked, "No more swearing! I'm supposed to keep this interview PG." She giggled, then continued, "I kid, of course." Pausing for a beat, she added, "Do know I'd be more than happy to listen if you ever need someone to talk to."]

Amanda felt the temperature rise in her face as her head bobbed, lips pressed together in an awkward smile. She wanted to respond with something like, 'that's so sweet of you to offer', but embarrassment hijacked all knowledge of the English language from her mind.

Insert awkward silence.

[[Delta] Delta glanced at something on her left and gave a subtle nod. Turning her focus back to Amanda, she said, "So words and stories have saved you from--unhappy outcomes. How or why do you think they were able to do that?"]

Amanda cleared her throat, the vibration jiggling her brain's ability to form speech patterns back to life. "Like I said earlier," Amanda began, "sometimes people feel isolated. Maybe it's because of unforeseen circumstances? Maybe it's their own doing? Whatev'. Sometimes people just feel trapped and alone--and words or stories are the only thing that can get through the walls built up around them."

[[Delta] With her chin propped up on folded hands, Delta sat in silence for a moment. When the conversation seemed stalled, she said, "What kind of words or stories do you think penetrate--these walls of isolation?"]

Shrugging her shoulders, Amanda replied, "It could be anything, I suppose. A song, maybe? I know there have been times when I've heard a song--randomly--and it feels like the song was written for me. Like--I was meant to hear the song at that exact moment in time so I could see my situation differently."

[[Delta] "That's happened to me, too." Delta appeared lost in thought for a moment as she gently tapped her fingernails on her bottom lip. Quickly glancing to her left, she sat up straight in her chair and resumed the conversation. "Can you think of any other examples when words have inspired you during times of--fuzziness?"]

"There have been times," Amanda began, "when I'll stumble across an article on the internet, and it will contain information I wasn't searching for--but desperately needed. You know? Like when you find something you never knew you always wanted? Words seem to do that for me a lot."

Amanda looked down at her hands and rubbed the self-inflicted wounds on her fingertips. Looking back up at her monitor, she finished her thought. "So I guess that's how words have saved me. They're voices of wisdom when no one else is around to speak them. Written words are--there--when no one else is."

[[Delta] "That's powerful. Really." Delta's pen fluttered as the pen danced across the page. When she finished writing, she asked, "So--words provide people with a sense of comfort in times of need. Is this how you'd say words change the world?"]

Amanda shook her head, eyes slightly squinting as though surprised Delta would conclude such a thing. "No."

[[Delta] Delta cocked her head, seemingly startled by Amanda's response. "Oh--. Then how would--? Explain again how you envision words changing the world. I might've misunderstood what you said. I apologize."]

"Being comforted by words is nice--don't get me wrong," Amanda explained. "Just like reading to escape stress is nice. Or reading to become more knowledgeable is nice. Or reading to feel empathy for others is nice. Whatever. All that stuff is nice, but if all you're doing is escaping stress instead of finding the courage to face the source of it--nothing's changed. If you're becoming more knowledgeable, but not putting that knowledge to use--nothing's changed. If you feel empathy for others, but don't do anything to help them--nothing's changed. Changing the world only happens if words inspire people to alter their actions in some way. You know? Otherwise--words are just--nice."

[[Delta] Delta seemed lost in thought as her orange ostrich feather tickled her cheek. "Would you say--words and stories could change the world if they provide people with a source of happiness? Would that be altering someone's life?"]

"It depends," Amanda replied, her mind shifting out of a nervous and socially awkward gear into a thought process more in line with the self-help books she consumed over the years. "If stories are the source of happiness--then they're nice. But if stories inspire readers to evolve so they become their own source of happiness, then those words changed a person. When people change--when people evolve--that's when the world changes."

[[Delta] Delta's pen flicked back and forth furiously as she wrote in her notebook.]

"But I have to confess--," Amanda whispered.

[[Delta] Stilling her pen, Delta looked up.]

Amanda bit her bottom lip, somewhat ashamed of what she was about to say. "All that? I'm just a parrot, repeating other people's words. It's self-help stuff I've read. I'm obsessed with self-help books. But the truth is--." She paused for a beat, glancing down at her hands. "I'm still lost--behind a wall of bits and bytes. I'm still not living the life I want despite having all the self-help knowledge."

[[Delta] "Bits of what?]

"My life is virtual, not real," Amanda clarified. "Bits and bytes."

[[Delta] "Oh--got it.]

"It's like I'm isolated behind a wall of technology and information," Amanda continued. "And no matter how much I read, I can't get passed the wall."

[[Delta] "Go on."]

"I'm not sure what else to say." Amanda's words trailed off as though her mind hit a dead end. She giggled to herself, then added, "You could say it's possible I've read an unhealthy amount of self-help books. I think the Dunbar and Encyclopedia Effect is--affecting me."

[[Delta] "The what?"]

Not registering Delta's question, Amanda continued. "It's like--my brain is so full of advice and inspirational quotes and possibilities--I'm paralyzed now. It's like I've got all these words in my head, but I can't transfer their wisdom to my life. I've got the tools, but I still don't know how to alter myself to be who I want to be."

[[Delta] Delta stopped writing and reread her notes for a moment. "Just to make sure I'm clear--words have given you a toolbox of knowledge to build anything you want, but you're still building walls instead of your best self."]

Amanda nodded. "Pretty much."

[[Delta] Closing her notebook and leaning into the camera, Delta said, "So you're tired of living your life virtually?"]

"Desperately." Amanda sighed. It felt good for her ears to hear her truth spoken out loud.

[[Delta] "I get it." Pausing for a beat, Delta added, "I'm surrounded by a city full of people, yet there are days when I feel all alone."]

Amanda smiled. "All the Facebook likes in the world still can't replace a hug."

[[Delta] "Exactly." Leaning back in her chair, Delta tapped her lips with the orange ostrich feather as though thinking of a solution. After a moment of silence, she said, "This is actually something we're working on at Wattpad."]

Amanda's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Really? How?"

[[Delta] "Uh--?" Delta scanned the environment around her desk as though searching for an answer. "Well, uh--. We think connecting users to physical reality would be--." Tapping her feather pen furiously against the corner of her desk, Delta continued to stumble over her words. "We want to help users like you connect--in reality. And, uh--we have to help each other. Because--? We need your help so our engineers can build--?]

Amanda's eyes furrowed in confusion as she tried to follow where Delta's words were leading.

[[Delta] Releasing a heavy sigh, Delta gripped the edge of her desk with both hands. "I'm not sure how to say it." Holding her index finger up, she bent her body to the left and disappeared from view.]

Oh my gawd, Amanda thought. What can't she tell me?

[[Delta] Springing back up, Delta pulled another wheeled office chair into view and motioned to the man sitting in it. "Our engineers will be working on a project in the coming weeks, and they'll be interviewing some of Wattpad's users to get a better idea of--?"]

Amanda stared at Ian on screen.

[[Ian] Ian stared into the camera at Amanda.]

[[Delta] Delta stared at Ian as she tripped over words to complete her thoughts. "So they can get a better idea about--?" Releasing a frustrated groan while gripping Ian's chair so he couldn't scoot out of view, Delta turned to the camera and said, "Would it be okay for one of our engineers to interview you?"]

Suddenly, Amanda became extremely aware of the fact she wore rags and had garbage in her hair. She tried to respond to Delta's question, but her mouth was gaped open too wide to be of any use.

[[Delta] Delta patted Ian's shoulder. "This is one of our engineers--Ian." Nodding towards the camera, she added, "Ian, this is Amanda."]

[[Ian] Ian didn't respond right away. He seemed disoriented and shell shocked. "Nice to meet you, Amanda."]

Huh?

A metaphorical knife of disappointment thrusted through Amanda's heart as she stared at the man who consumed her every thought for the last week.

Nice to meet me, Amanda thought. Desperation tried to think of an alternate explanation for Ian's distant response, but her mind concluded the obvious. He doesn't remember me. Oh my gawd, he doesn't remember meeting me. The jinx magic was just--my imagination.