boundaries

  • A person who sits with their demons long enough realizes that they are all teachers wearing masks. I used to think they came carrying pitchforks. Turns out they arrived holding mirrors. Funny how disappointment always introduces itself as punishment until enough years pass for you to realize it was simply an instructor with terrible bedside…

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  • The Cosmic Audit

    There are moments when the universe does not knock politely. It arrives with a clipboard. No lightning. No trumpet. No dramatic warning written across the clouds. Just the unmistakable feeling that something old has begun moving again. It happened exactly the way it was supposed to. Saturn showed up, simply in reverse. No panic. No…

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  • Palace Standards

    There is a strange thing that happens when someone is offered two invitations. One arrives on thick paper, sealed in wax, written with careful hands. It is an invitation to a palace. The walls are tall, not because they are meant to keep people out, but because what lives inside has value. Every room has…

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  • There is an old tailor’s shop that almost no one remembers anymore. The walls are lined with thousands of pairs of scissors. Some are polished silver. Some are black with age. Some have blades so sharp they can separate silk without leaving a thread behind. People wander into the shop every day carrying pieces of…

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  • There is an orchard few people ever speak about. Not because it is hidden. Because everyone standing in it believes it is normal. They walk among twisted trunks and fruit that never quite ripens. Some branches bloom beautifully while others rot from the inside. The leaves shimmer just enough to convince every generation that next…

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  • There is a strange rule that governs every meaningful relationship in this life. If I cannot teach you something…If I cannot show you something…If I cannot help carry a piece of your burden… Then eventually I become decoration. If you cannot teach me…If you cannot sharpen me…If you cannot challenge me to become something greater…

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  • Waiting Room 7

    There is a waiting room that every person eventually finds. No one tells you where it is. No one hands you directions. One day life simply walks you through the door, takes a seat beside you, and says… “You’re going to be here awhile.” The room isn’t fancy. The chairs are comfortable enough to keep…

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  • I don’t normally wake up on an average Tuesday looking for trouble. Tuesday is usually reserved for coffee, ambition, and pretending emails don’t exist for another five minutes. But every once in a while… Pettluyah clocks in for her shift. She doesn’t work often. Only when absolutely necessary. Today she adjusted her sunglasses, smiled at…

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  • The carnival had closed hours ago. The lights still blinked. The music still echoed from speakers no one had bothered to shut off. Popcorn drifted across cracked pavement. Prize booths sat full of stuffed animals that no one had won. The mirrors inside the funhouse reflected empty walkways. Yet one attraction somehow still had a…

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  • The waitress smiled before she even reached the table. “The usual?” We all laughed. Some places don’t just serve food. They serve history. This little restaurant had watched promotions become celebrations, breakups become therapy sessions, birthdays become excuses to order dessert, and friendships survive decades that marriages sometimes couldn’t. It was my cheat meal for…

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