If two strangers dreamed of each other, neither would know they had company.

Two people could occupy each other’s night entirely and neither would ever find out. It is a reminder that a great deal of connection is one-directional and unreported: people think about you, remember you, are shaped by you, and you will never be told. Influence does not require acknowledgement.

Assume you are in more people’s thoughts than the evidence suggests, and assume the same about the people you think of. If someone has been on your mind, that is reason enough to send a message. You may be closing a loop the other person did not know was open.