The proximity of anonymity

There are a lot of people in the world (I am far too lazy to look up the exact number). Most of the time, I never think about the lives of the billions (trillions?) of other humans on the planet. Instead I only focus on the lives of those around me.

But sometimes, the lives of the strangers around me impacts me. It usually happens when I hear them talk. Not necessarily in an eavesdropping way; I may only hear a sentence. But for those few moments, that person is no longer anonymous. They are no longer part of an ever-changing background; they have a body, a pulse, a voice, a soul. They are real, just like I am. Hearing that person often startles me. I am taken away from my small insignificant world and thrown into theirs, most of the time without them realizing it. It brings up so many questions for me. Who are they? Why are they here? Where are they going? What do they do? What is their name?

I feel...hurt that I will never know the answers to those questions. That I will never get to know that stranger. That despite the number of people I know, there will still be someone who I was around, but never even spoke to.