heh

Being the Queen of SMS -- mind you, it's SMS, not S&M, I'm not Queen Amrita -- I've been fascinated by one of the most succinct and powerful words you can use in messages.

Or rather, it is a non-word -- heh.

The difference it makes, when appended to something like "Don't toy with my heart", is the difference between being too close to the truth and just the right touch of nonchalance.

Like laughing in the face of the little inconveniences life throws at you, the heh is like the sound of a breath being expelled not silently enough, to signal that you don't take things that seriously.

"I'm getting rained on here while waiting for you. Heh"
"I'm a big girl. Give it to me straight, I can take it. Heh"

It may seem similar to its repetitive, naggy aunt -- heh heh -- but its purpose in life and in text messages is quite different. While the heh heh is so blatantly trying to make mirth, the heh is entirely more subtle. Skim a message too fast, and you miss it.

The beauty of the heh is that it is only three characters long, therefore it often finds its way into the 160 characters I'm afforded with every text message.

But sometimes, a heh is just a heh. Like when your message is too short, too abrupt, too curt, and you want to soften the blow, but there's no time and you mean business.

"Offstone. Go away. Heh"