Humans were never truly strong.
And perhaps the fact that God Himself said humankind was created weak only proves how fragile we really are.
I am not speaking of physical strength. Humans can lift bodies heavier than their own, survive wars, climb mountains, and even reach space. Yet a single piece of paper declaring their worth can destroy them completely.
The human mind has always been more fragile than the human body.
Now, here we stand in the year 2026.
We have discovered planets, machines, medicines, and artificial intelligence. Yet somehow, we forgot to discover peace.
Tell me how many people truly feel safe?
Comfortable?
Understood?
Most people do not even know themselves. But one thing humans never stop doing is questioning.
So let me ask you a question that belongs to everyone, no matter their gender, religion, skin color, or birthplace:
"What is it like to be human?"
~Introduction~
"I prayed love would find me, not in the way I first learned it at home."
"The hardest part about loving someone isn't falling for them. It's knowing one day, life might ask you to live without them."
"Some mistakes don't ruin your life. They become the reason you believe you don't deserve to be loved."
"Trust wasn't something I lost. It was something people kept taking until there was nothing left to give."
"You can have everything YOU want, but not EVERYTHING you want."
"They chose to hate me before they knew me. I just made sure they never changed their minds."
"Some men carry flowers. I carry the burden of making sure no one ever has to lay them on the people I love."
starting:
"This is Lily.
I was born in a small town, and I am the eldest daughter of the family. I have two siblings, and I just passed school, and honestly, I am still trying to figure out my life. This journal is the only thing I keep closest to my heart, yet I hide it inside a locked drawer. Why? Because I do not want anyone reading it. Maybe I am afraid my thoughts might hurt someone's fragile ego.
Wondering whose?
You will know soon enough."
"Lily, come downstairs! Dinner is ready!" my mother shouted from the kitchen.
I quickly closed my journal and slipped it back into the drawer before making my way downstairs.
"Help me arrange the dishes," Mom said.
I nodded silently and began placing the plates on the table. Soon, all of us sat down together-Mom, my two brothers Ryan and Noah, and me.
Dinner was quiet, except for the sound of spoons clinking against steel plates and the television mumbling in the background.
After eating, Ryan and Noah rushed outside to play with their friends.
I stayed behind.
Why?
Because apparently, girls are only allowed to play outside until they reach a "certain age."
After that, they belong in the kitchen.
So I stood beside my mother at the sink, sleeves rolled up, washing dishes exactly the way I had been taught to.
After helping Mom, I went back to my room and sat beside the window, craving a little fresh air.
When I looked outside, I noticed a group of boys gathered near our neighbor's gate. They laughed loudly, shoved each other playfully, exchanged jokes, and argued over meaningless things.
They looked so free. And for a moment, I wondered if freedom ever cost them anything.
Because in this world, nothing comes free. Not even happiness.
If a person smiles too much, they are strange. If they stay quiet, they are rude. If they speak honestly, they are disrespectful.
Humans always seem to have rules for each other.
My eyes wandered back to the boys before suddenly stopping at one face.
He was staring at me.
Warm eyes. Deep. Familiar.
Evaan.
My neighbor.
We had moved here only a few months ago, yet somehow I had seen him countless times through this very window. Sometimes returning home late, sometimes helping his mother carry groceries, sometimes simply standing outside with his friends like he had nowhere else to be.
For a second, neither of us looked away.
Then I quietly closed the window and rested my forehead against the glass.
"God," I whispered softly, "when will I ever have this kind of freedom?"
{someone entered}
"Hey, where's my charger?"
I looked up in irritation. "Ryan, learn to knock before entering."
"Then learn to close the door," he replied casually. "And you're forgetting this is our room."
"Yeah, of course I know." I sighed. "Your charger is on the table."
"Thanks," he said before plugging his phone into the charger.
I sat back on the bed as silence filled the room for a moment.
"So, how was your match?" I asked.
"Good. The other team won by two points."
I frowned. "Lost? But you said you never lose in cricket."
"Yeah, I never lose," he said confidently. "The other team just happened to win."
I stared at him for a second before laughing softly. "You're actually dumb."
"Still smarter than you."
I rolled my eyes while he grinned proudly at himself before walking out of the room.
The door closed behind him, and the room fell quiet again.
I laid down on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
I wanted to play outside too.
To run around without constantly checking the time. To laugh loudly without being judged for it. To come home covered in dust and exhaustion instead of standing in the kitchen washing dishes.
Sometimes, I wished I could be as careless as Ryan.
But right now, none of that mattered.
If I wanted a good future, I had to study hard enough to earn it.
So I grabbed my books and forced myself to focus.
Hours passed quietly.
The entire house had fallen asleep by the time I finally looked away from my notes. My eyes burned from staring at pages for too long, and the digital clock beside my bed showed 1:47 AM.
Just as I was about to close my book, my phone suddenly buzzed beside me.
{E4X.vaan has requested to follow you}
My eyes widened.
I immediately stood up in shock and hit my head against the corner of the almirah.
"Ow- gosh! What the heck..." I whispered painfully, rubbing my forehead.
I looked back at my phone screen.
Evaan sent me a follow request.
For some reason, my brain instantly began imagining every possible outcome that could happen if I accepted it.
What if he was just being polite?
What if he accidentally sent it?
What if my brothers found out?
What if Mom somehow saw it?
Then another thought crossed my mind.
Why was I acting like this was some life-changing decision?
"It's literally just a notification, Lily," I muttered to myself.
Without thinking much further, my thumb pressed the accept button.
It was not unusual for me to receive follow requests. But this felt different.
This was Evaan.
Our families lived next to each other, and our mothers were close friends. His mother visited our house often, and honestly, she was one of the sweetest women I had ever met.
But Evaan and I had never really spoken before.
Not properly.
I placed my phone down and glanced outside the window absentmindedly.
The moment my eyes landed downstairs, my entire body froze.
He was standing there.
Looking up at my window.
My breath caught in my throat as I immediately pulled the curtains shut and locked the window.
"Uh... what are you doing?"
I turned around quickly at the sound of Ryan's sleepy voice.
Right.
I had completely forgotten we shared the same room.
"Nothing," I replied quickly. "There was just a mosquito."
"Then switch on the mosquito refill," he mumbled half-asleep.
"Yeah, I will. Go back to sleep."
Within seconds, he was asleep again.
I checked the time.
2:03 AM.
Finally, I laid down on my bed, exhausted, when another notification popped onto my screen.
This time, it was from Janelle. i call her Jenny.
My closest friend.
The one person who listened to everything I never said out loud. And I must be favored to know her.
next morning~
The next morning, I was quietly having breakfast when Mom suddenly spoke.
"Your dad is coming next week."
I instantly choked on my food.
"What?" I coughed. "Why?"
Mom frowned at me. "What do you mean why? He is your father. He can come whenever he wants."
"Yeah, Mom, but..." I hesitated. "I mean for how long?"
She looked at me carefully, but I quickly avoided her gaze and focused on my plate instead.
"Why do you always act strange whenever he comes home?" she asked.
"Me? No, I don't."
"Aren't you happy your father is coming?"
"No, Mom-I mean yes, obviously I am. It was just a shock."
"A shock?"
"I mean... a surprise," I corrected awkwardly.
Mom shook her head slightly in disbelief before standing up from the table.
"Fine. I'm going to the market to buy groceries. Take care of Ryan and Noah, and don't fight."
"Mama, he starts the fights, not me," I complained immediately.
"Excuse me?" Ryan's voice came from behind me. "Who used my new hoodie as a shoe cleaner?"
I slowly turned around. "Uhm... it was already dirty, so-"
"It was cleaner than your mouth."
"Mom, see how he talks to me!"
"Lily," Mom sighed tiredly, "you are almost an adult. Stop behaving like a child."
Ryan burst out laughing beside me.
Mom pointed at him immediately. "And you, Ryan, respect your sister. She's older than you."
His laughter disappeared instantly.
I smiled proudly.
"Did you hear that?" I said dramatically. "Respect your elder sister."
"Yeah, yeah," he muttered while rolling his eyes. "Act like you're eighty."
"Mama, can I come too?"
Noah walked into the room riding his tiny toy horse, his messy hair bouncing as he stopped beside Mom.
Mom smiled softly at him. "No, baby. You stay home and play with your toys. I'll be back soon, okay?"
Noah immediately pouted, gripping the toy horse tighter.
"But I wanna come..."
"I know," Mom said gently while fixing his hair, "but the market is crowded."
For a moment, he looked like he was about to argue, but surprisingly, he stayed quiet and nodded sadly instead.
"Okay..."
Watching him made me smile a little.
Noah was the only person in the house who could lose an argument and still look adorable doing it.
The day passed slowly.
I studied for a few hours, but eventually got bored and ended up watching random shows instead.
Now I was laying on my bed while Ryan sat beside me, completely invading my personal space for no reason.
"Go to your own bed and sleep," I told him.
He only hummed in response, clearly not planning to move.
I glanced at the clock.
1:35 AM.
"Ryan, don't you have school tomorrow?"
"No," he replied lazily. "It's vacation."
"Oh."
Ever since I finished school, life had started feeling strangely boring.
The same room. The same walls. The same routine.
I absentmindedly scrolled through reels on my phone until suddenly a notification appeared on the screen.
[Hey]
My eyes immediately widened.
Evaan.
For some reason, just seeing his name made my posture straighten.
I quickly opened the message and awkwardly typed back.
[hello]
A few seconds later, another message appeared.
[I wanna say something]
I froze.
Oh no.
What if it was one of those confessions people make in movies before ruining someone's peace forever?
Curiosity slowly won against my fear.
[what?]
After sending it, I immediately locked my phone and placed it face down on the bed like it had committed a crime.
I could not even look at the screen.
My mind kept imagining every possible thing he could say, and somehow all of them made me nervous.
Two minutes later, the phone buzzed again.
[I mean... nothing. Forget it.]
I instantly grabbed the phone.
Forget it?
This man almost gave me a heart attack and now suddenly it was "forget it"?
[okay whatever]
A few seconds passed.
Then another message appeared.
[I don't know how to say this, but I adore you.]
My breathing stopped for a second.
Beside me, Ryan was peacefully half-asleep while my entire life suddenly felt like it had turned into a dramatic television series at two in the morning.