Bobby felt like the loneliest man on planet earth, and learned how badly lonely hurts.
But the pain felt like truth.
He did not deliberately avoid people, at least not at first. Socializing with co-workers, dating women, participating in book clubs, finding and frequenting a favorite bar - he tried these things and more, and had some fun. But he always ended on empty. The process was enjoyable, but frustrating, because it led nowhere, at least nowhere that made sense to him.
Bobby narrowed his options until he became his only option. Searching for satisfaction of the soul, and arriving at the realization that his soul was on its own.
People are distracted; they have lives to lead and problems to solve - they don't have time for fulfillment. They look to the left when they should be looking to the right, and are stunned when the shocking realization comes around that life has passed them by.
Bobby tried so hard to avoid that fate that his solace wound up being his books, his poetry, his music and his movies in a very small apartment that would not accomodate visitors. Which was good, because there weren't any.
He worked from home, had his groceries and other necessities delivered, and only left the apartment when he absolutely had to. Many of his neighbors had no idea what he looked like.
The Loneliest Whale came into his life and tipped him over the edge. Bobby came across the movie randomly and the topic enthralled him. It's a documentary about the 52-hertz whale, which scientists believe has spent its entire life in solitude calling out at a frequency that is different than any other whale - 52 hertz. It's migration track is unrelated to the presence or movement of other whale species.
In other words, it lives entirely on its own.
The first time Bobby watched the movie he was wide-eyed. After that he sobbed, pausing the movie to recover, re-starting it to nurture his soul. A direct and life-giving connection.
For the first time in his life, Bobby was not alone.
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