Long-distance relationships are notoriously hard. Though we have more technological tools for communicating now than ever before, they all fall short, badly, when it comes to saying a basic “I love you”.

The worst thing about a loved one’s absence is that it’s constant. If you know that you’ll be seeing them in the evening or over the weekend, being alone is normally not a problem, even if you find yourself counting the minutes till then. If you’re apart for months at a time, the situation is completely different.

You’ll often find yourself wondering what they are doing and whether they’re thinking of you. It’s also awkward to just let them know that they’re on your mind: if you call them simply to tell them so, the two of you inevitably end up making small talk about dumb stuff like work, school, and how your respective goldfish are doing. Luckily, this product now solves exactly this problem.

When you touch your lamp, the corresponding one in your lover’s bedroom or on their desk lights up in sync, giving you a small shared experience. After a pre-set time, both fade out again. In this way, you can send a message without having to include any empty words. Here’s a visualization of that:

The video above is from Uncommon Goods, where you can also get this, but there are other options out there that do something similar while you’re on the go. What makes this product special is its beautiful design: with a stained-glass look and capable of displaying several colors, it will easily blend into and complement most home environments. And at eight inches high, this lamp isn’t prohibitively large for most suitcases.

The lamp requires a wi-fi connection to function. Unfortunately, it won’t work with 5 Ghz routers, so it’s worth checking if yours supports 2.4 Ghz (most routers do).