What is loneliness?

It’s not the same thing as feeling alone. I often enjoy feeling alone— it feels like I finally have room to breathe, and I resent any intrusion. But being lonely is almost the opposite: the weight of being a self is suffocating, and I search for any means of relieving the pressure of being me.

I am alone right now, and it feels good. But I wish I’d brought my sketchbook— the music is about to start.