Layla was nervous the first time she clicked “Start” on a random video chat site. Around her, friends had shared horror stories — trolls, flashing, cruel pranks. But Layla had a different goal: she wanted to practice her Spanish and maybe brighten someone’s day.

One evening, she matched with an elderly man in Córdoba, Argentina. “Saraf,” he said, mispronouncing her name. He thought she was someone else — a granddaughter who’d stopped calling. Instead of correcting him, Layla smiled and listened. For 22 minutes, she heard about his garden, his late wife’s recipe for empanadas, and his fear of being forgotten.

The Mirror in the Chat