No one warns you this will happen. You will only recognize the longing by the gaping hole that will cave in, a dull ache constant at its edges. Put a rug over it. It is ugly, and has no place in your home. The hole will swallow the rug. It is starving; try to understand. Next, acknowledge the hole. To fill it, perhaps try painting. Try sudoku. Try to do a cartwheel. Open a text string with an old friend. Scroll up and down. Turn your phone off. Try baking. Trust that you will find something to consume you so deeply you won’t remember the loneliness. Hope that the loneliness will stay in its corner of the room, though still trapped within the walls with you. Be careful not to look it in the face. It will accompany you on your ventures when you try reading, try yoga, try everything you can grasp. When you look for more, it will brush your hair out of your face and whisper in your ear. Instead of listening, try another rug.