self-worth

  • The Ones Born Under the Moon

    There comes a strange hour when the mathematics of loss changes. You stop counting the people who left and begin considering what left with you. The room looks different from that side of the equation. There will always be replacements. Another name saved in the phone, another body sitting in the chair, another person learning…

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  • Priority

    “You forgot something.” “I have my keys.” “Not that.” “Phone?” “In your hand.” “Coffee?” “Also in your hand.” “Then I have everything.” “You forgot yourself.” There was a pause. “That was dramatic.” “It got your attention.” “I am literally standing here.” “Physically, yes. Congratulations.” “Are we doing this today?” “Apparently. When did you move yourself…

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  • The Key at the Front Door

    Everybody is willing to hate you until they need you again by then the relationship has changed. Not ended. Changed. There is a difference. Endings have funerals. Flowers. Black dresses. Dirt thrown over something everyone has agreed is dead. Change is crueler. Change leaves the body sitting at the dinner table. It lets the conversation…

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  • There is a room hidden beneath history that few people have ever been invited to see. It has no king upon its throne. Only a contract. The paper is so old the ink has faded, but every generation signs it without reading it first. They inherit the rules before they inherit their own names. A…

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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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  • Chasing Butterflies

    There is a strange little meadow that very few people ever notice. Not because it is hidden. Because nobody stays still long enough to see it. The butterflies there are unlike any you’ve ever imagined. Their wings shimmer with colors that seem to change depending on who is looking at them. Gold for the ambitious.…

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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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