Is a girl's textual conversation, at 18 years of age, with her male and female cousins (paternal and maternal), who are older than her, for the purpose of reassurance and alleviating distress, considered forbidden or akin to a private meeting (khalwa)?

Islam has set boundaries for a woman's interaction with non-mahram men, whether they are relatives or strangers, and has emphasized these restrictions particularly with relatives to prevent pretexts and avert fitna (strife/temptation). Therefore, it is impermissible to expand conversation with non-mahram relatives to the extent of joking, whether through direct verbal communication or in writing, because writing can be a cause for fitna. Writing is not considered khalwa (private seclusion); khalwa is a gathering where suspicion cannot be dispelled, referring to the physical gathering of bodies, and it is negated by the presence of a barrier. However, this does not prevent writing from being a pretext for fitna.