Life has slowed down tremendously over the last couple of weeks, and while, yes, there are ups and downs, overall I am surprised about the good things that come out of the lockdown: cleansing oneself from #fomo and coffee chats and business meetings we believe we absolutely need to do (but really don't move the needle); finding time to reflect, working on our health and body or even picking up a hobby or project we never had time to do.

And in the middle of it all, there is this absolutely unbelievable and totally unexpected person coming into my life and I find myself in the biggest Social Experiment the Modern World has seen in decades. The story I am going to tell you couldn't be more romantic and is the stuff movies are made of: 

Imagine two people that find themselves in lockdown. Under normal circumstances they would have unlikely noticed each other, because both are too busy, distracted and literally, all over the place.

Now in lockdown, they are grounded. As work colleagues, they start speaking more frequently on the phone. Very quickly though, the conversation evolves from complaining about the daily frustration of Work From Home to sharing their favorite songs to cheer one another up, finding words of comfort when things seem grim and laughing together when good news arise. I mean they even build a joint music playlist together! Who does these things these days?

Suddenly, they find themselves riding this emotional lockdown rollercoaster together and they cannot imagine how life would be without the support of the other person. But does this connection even mean anything? Or is it only happening because of the lockdown? Because both are starved for social interaction and got thrown together?

The lines between work and private life smudge further. Their conversations become longer, more intimate. They talk about their friends, their experiences, their dreams and passions. They spend average four, five hours on the phone, talking into the depth of night and if it was not for the tiredness in their eyes, they could talk the entire night. -- When was the last time you talked to someone for hours until 3am? When was the last time you even considered, speaking to someone for so long or had the time to do so? 

Despite the deep connection they both feel and taking it slowly and step by step, they face a huge problem: They cannot see each other while under lockdown and the lockdown got extended by yet another month. What a mood dropper...and a new fear bubbles up: How long can you keep such connection and magic going on through video chat? Covid and this lockdown make you feel like being in the Hunger Games: a game maker is in control of your life and you cannot go out as you please and do things you want for fear of surveillance and getting caught.

Of course, they are like rebellious teenagers and they find ways around the lockdown. They "bump" into each other on the street, and at first, it feels almost weird to actually see each other in real life and being almost able to touch each other with two meters of social distancing. After so many phone calls and feeling closeness virtually, in this very moment, the real life almost feels unnatural while speaking digitally feels natural. What an ironic twist of sensation this lockdown creates. Perhaps it is also information overflow of their senses after weeks and weeks of self-isolation that makes it feel this way.

They also dare more and take a double-decker bus together, accidentally sitting front row on the upper deck, while listening to music together and riding through Singapore. Perhaps it is again the Lockdown Effect, but even these mundane activities such as a bus ride feel so special and exciting for them. I mean, girls, we talk about taking a mundane bus for the sake of riding it and with no particular aim.

And finally, after weeks and weeks of anticipation, they finally manage to kiss and so this love story unfolds...

What those two people created is beautiful, special and so raw these days. They get to know each other on a whole different level - no fancy clothes and dinners, no games or apps. They succeed to strip down to the very profound and essential truth, and what has always been the most important about two people connecting: a good conversation. 

Perhaps, in normal life, we do come across good conversations with people, but we are also just so easily distracted in our fast-paced lives and are not patient and focused enough to really try to get to know someone profoundly - and perhaps this is something we should be taking away from this lockdown lab experiment.  

We are still under lockdown in Singapore and noone knows how it will be when things ease back into normal. It is also not clear whether this love story lab experiment will stand a chance to survive in the "wild". I would really hope that it is indeed substantial and real. If it is, then I guess, I just got myself a boyfriend.

But one think I know for sure is that this lockdown has been really good to me with sharpening my senses, getting back to what is meaningful, profound and real and to really appreciate the details of life.