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Chapter 87: When Generosity Becomes an Expectation

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Single Doesn’t Mean “Family ATM” It is fascinating how the meaning of “fair” can change depending on who benefits from it. When a family expense is divided, fairness apparently means splitting it equally among the siblings—even when one person comes alone and the others arrive with their own households. But when each household is expected to cover its own share, the calculation suddenly becomes very detailed: We didn’t eat much. The children only had a little. This person barely touched the food. Interesting how closely everyone monitors their consumption only when the bill begins to reflect the number of people they brought. The unmarried sibling, meanwhile, is often expected to contribute more because they supposedly have “fewer commitments.” Apparently, being single means having no bills, no responsibilities, no savings goals and no plans for the future. Their money must simply be sitting around, patiently waiting for the next family gathering. This logic becomes even more questiona...
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Chapter 86: Was It Me—or What I Could Offer?

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A Quiet Realisation Sometimes, disappointment does not come from one big moment. It builds slowly through small interactions that seem harmless at first. I have always been someone who helps when I can. If I know someone who might be able to assist, I make an introduction. If I come across something useful, I share it. I do these things naturally, without keeping score or expecting anything in return. For a while, I believed that willingness was appreciated. Lately, however, I have found myself questioning whether there is a difference between being appreciated and simply being convenient. It is a difficult thought to sit with, especially when your intentions have always been sincere. Perhaps nobody meant any harm. People sometimes become focused on what they are trying to build and may not realise how their actions appear to others. What feels practical to one person can feel rather one-sided to another. That does not necessarily make either person wrong, but it can reveal an imbalanc...
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Chapter 85: Somewhere I Wasn’t Meant to Stay

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Reading Between the Lines Sometimes, an answer does not arrive as a clear yes or no. Instead, it comes through silence, changing words and that uncomfortable feeling of never quite knowing where you stand. For a while, I held on to certain things that had been said to me. They gave me a reason to believe that an opportunity might eventually come my way. I continued showing up, putting in effort and hoping my turn would come. But words can create expectations that actions do not always fulfil. Perhaps circumstances changed. Perhaps I misunderstood what was meant. Or perhaps some decisions had already been quietly made long before I realised it. I do not know the complete story, so I will not pretend that I do. What I do know is how the experience made me feel. It is difficult watching opportunities pass you by when you genuinely believe you are capable. It becomes even harder when you sense that effort and ability may not be the only things being considered. In some spaces, being famili...
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Chapter 84: Chip

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A Little Piece of Happiness 🐿️🤎 Some people enter your life unexpectedly, and before you realise it, they become part of your everyday thoughts, your little routines, and the memories you look forward to making. You are that person for me. There is something special about having someone who understands your weirdness, laughs at your random moments, and makes even the simplest days feel a little brighter. Sometimes it’s not about grand gestures or big moments. It’s the little things — the conversations that never seem to end, the laughter over things only we find funny, the silly inside jokes that would probably make no sense to anyone else. Somewhere along the way, we found our own little symbol — two tiny characters that remind us of the fun, the chaos, and the comfort we share. A small reminder that no matter how different we are, some things just naturally belong together. Life with you feels like collecting little moments: the unexpected laughs, the random adventures, the quiet d...
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Chapter 83: Boundaries

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Some People Leave Quietly Not every goodbye comes with an argument. Some people simply create distance. Not because they hate you. Not because you've wronged them. Sometimes they've just remembered why the boundary mattered in the first place. Funny how life works. The people who once knew everything about you can become people you occasionally wave to from across the room. No hard feelings. Just a quiet reminder that not every connection belongs in every chapter, and not every friendship is meant to last forever. I suppose growing up isn't about keeping everyone. It's about learning to appreciate those who stay, respect those who leave, and resist the urge to take attendance. Perhaps that's what growing up really is: learning to let people go without needing someone to be the villain.
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Chapter 82: Pain

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Eleven Years There are wounds that never really close. You simply learn how to live around them. For eleven years, I've carried something that has no shape, yet weighs more than anything I can hold. It follows quietly. Into conversations. Into silence. Into the moments that should have felt light. People see the version of me that keeps going. They don't see how much strength it takes to keep standing when everything inside feels like it's already fallen. I don't need anyone to measure this pain. I only need to stop pretending it doesn't exist. Tonight, I'm tired. Not of life. Just of carrying what words have never been able to hold.
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Chapter 81: The Void

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Hollow— I thought I was getting better. Then, without warning, everything became heavy again. Not because one thing happened. But because everything arrived at the same time. The noise. The expectations. The labels. The guilt. They settled somewhere inside me, until I could no longer tell where they ended and where I began. I don't have the strength to defend myself today. I don't have the answers either. So I'll let the silence carry what I cannot. Perhaps tomorrow will ask less of me. And perhaps, that will be enough.
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