Imagine this: it's a breezy afternoon in the month of June, you're standing in line to get a refreshing beverage, excitement coursing through your body as you're about to see your favorite bands play live. Suddenly, you see a perfect stranger with excellent fashion taste. Sparks fly and you two kiss, but then part ways. Sounds like the beginning of a rom com? No, that actually happened to a woman at a music festival in Kentucky. The kiss was so good she was determined to find the mystery man. And guess what? She did it!
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What if you just kissed the love of your life but now they're gone? This woman was determined to find her festival beau
Image credits: Q102 (WKRQ)
Music festivals are a magical experience that feels like an alternate dimension filled with your best friends and favorite artists. If you're lucky, you find someone who makes this experience even more special.
Natalie Jones, a radio host at Q102 Cincinnati, attended Railbird Festival in early June and hit it off with a handsome stranger whilst waiting in the queue to get a beverage.
Playful banter turned into flirting, sparks went flying and they finally kissed. Unfortunately, they parted ways before exchanging contacts. Still, Natalie could not stop thinking about him.
Music festivals are a great place to experience a summer fling. But Natalie did not want things to just end there
Image credits: Railbird Festival
She used the power of the internet to locate him and in just three days, he was found
Image credits: natjooones
When Natalie couldn't stop thinking about her festival encounter, she decided to ask for help from her listeners. ''Internet, do your thing,'' the hosts of Thernfshow encouraged people to help Natalie.
Luckily, one of Natalie's friends managed to capture the romantic moment on camera, so the search for the mystery man wasn't as hopeless.
Lo and behold, three days later, the internet delivered and the mystery man was a mystery no more. His name is Cole and turns out, he too was trying to find Natalie!
Rom com writers, here's your next movie idea!
Image credits: Railbird Festival
Cole was happy that Natalie had found him and the pair agreed to keep talking and see where this will go
Image credits: natjooones
Soon after Cole was found, he was invited to the radio show. When Natalie's co-hosts teased him about not getting Natalie's details, he explained that it "all happened so fast".He then cheekily added ''We look really good together'' and that their kiss was ''definitely a moment''.
After returning home, Cole was scouring Facebook comments and reviews, hoping that, perhaps, Natalie left one. Who said romance was dead?
However romantic this sounds, people in the comments were unsettled by this story, noting that if the roles were reversed, it wouldn't sound as romantic.
Of course, if Natalie had channeled her inner Joe Goldberg, this wouldn't be romantic. But luckily, their story has a happy ending - both parties wanted to find each other and were excited to reconnect. But let's explore an alternative version.
Image credits: natjooones
What if the mystery man wanted to remain a mystery? Would he be comfortable with her relentless pursuit to find him?
In the age of the internet, it's very easy to find anyone - most of us have our social media accounts set on public and share a lot of our our daily lives. So only a few minutes of intent searching and a stranger can find out about your great aunt Mildred's birthday and that you'll be attending a stand-up comedy event this weekend.
'Aren't great aunts just great?' they begin a charming conversation and you're lulled by how easily it flows, how much they seem to get you. They don't. They stalked you and are using that information to manipulate you.
Stalking sounds scary and you immediately think about someone following you in a dark alley. The Department of Justice defines stalking as "a pattern of repeated and unwanted attention". Knowing this definition, would you consider finding a stranger online stalking?
At the end of the day, this is a happy story of two strangers sharing a magical moment and finding each other with the help of almighty internet. Still, as rational beings, we should take a pause and consider all possible outcomes.
Romance cannot exist without mutual consent. Always keep that in mind if you ever find yourself at 3am trying to find that stranger from last night. If they respond - hurrah, but if they kindly ask to back off, please do.
And if you're experiencing any signs of stalking, don't be silent. Tell your friends and family, ask for help and contact the authorities - we all deserve to feel safe and have our boundaries respected.
People in the comments have mixed opinions. Some find this romantic and serendipitous
While others think it's desperate and stalkerish
