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“A balm for the soul”
  review on Goodreads
GOOD PEOPLE Book
upworthy

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People react to the "I peeled my orange" story.

A slideshow on TikTok has been bringing people to tears because it’s a touching slice of life that describes what it is like to love, lose and find oneself again. The story is centered around a text conversation between Charlotte and EM, who recently broke up and are heading into college.

Charlotte is still in love with Em, but they don't feel the same.

The conversation starts with Charlotte texting Em out of the blue to thank them for helping her with her college application. Charlotte has recently been accepted to New York University, and Em is also looking forward to moving into a dorm room when school starts.


Charlotte (blue text) has no problem sharing her feelings for Em (gray text).

i peeled my orange, viral tiktok, tear jerkers

A text exchange between Charlotte and Em.

via @Things.i.cant.sen/TikTok

Charlotte then reminds Em of how they used to peel oranges for her every morning and she still doesn’t know how to do it herself.

i peeled my orange, viral tiktok, tear jerkers

A text exchange between Charlotte and Em.

via @Things.i.cant.sen/TikTok

Then, Charlotte explained what she’s learned and how she has changed since the break up.

i peeled my orange, viral tiktok, tear jerkers

A text exchange between Charlotte and Em.

via @Things.i.cant.sen/TikTok

Em reassured Charlotte that there are still plenty of opportunities to find love.

i peeled my orange, viral tiktok, tear jerkers

A text exchange between Charlotte and Em.

via @Things.i.cant.sen/TikTok

However, even though Em is clear that their relationship is over they continue to reassure her that someone is out there for her.

i peeled my orange, viral tiktok, tear jerkers

A text exchange between Charlotte and Em.

via @Things.i.cant.sen/TikTok

The two had a heartfelt, kind exchange, but Em remained clear that their relationship was over, and it was in Charloette’s best interests that they stopped communicating. Em wants to keep old wounds closed and wants Charlotte to be open to finding someone else. That won’t happen if they remain close.

i peeled my orange, viral tiktok, tear jerkers

A text exchange between Charlotte and Em.

via @Things.i.cant.sen/TikTok

The two exchanged final “I love yous.” But Em’s was different.

i peeled my orange, viral tiktok, tear jerkers

A text exchange between Charlotte and Em.

via @Things.i.cant.sen/TikTok

Days, weeks, months, possibly more than a year later, against Em’s wishes, Charlotte reached out again with a poignant message.

i peeled my orange, viral tiktok, tear jerkers

A text exchange between Charlotte and Em.

via @Things.i.cant.sen/TikTok

Sadly, the texted was delivered green. So Em most likely had blocked Charlotte.

Click here to see the entire slide show.

It’s incredible how a quick text exchange between exes can be loaded with so much emotion, tension, truth, kindness, and backstory. The exchange between Charlotte and Em is like a 3-act play where we see where these two people are, where they've been and feel the conflict that keeps them apart. Finally, in the end, our main character, Charlotte, overcomes her pain and learns to be self-sufficient. But Em doesn’t want to hear from her and may never know that she finally learned to be self-sufficient. What a heartbreaking twist.

Can somebody please interview Charlotte and Em and turn this into a movie? We need to see how they met. What things were like when the relationship was going well and why they broke up. It would also be wonderful to know where they are now.

The slideshow has been seen over 6 million times on TikTok, and the overwhelming response has been tears.

“I lost it at ‘loved’ and went crazy at ‘I peeled my orange today,’” Mari (Taylor’s Version) wrote. “The ‘i peeled my orange today’ with the green bubble sent goosebumps down my whole body. Crying for Charlotte,” Mads added.