FICTION | SERIES | MICRO MONDAY

Antitoxins in My Veins

Hope #12 — Trading every lie for a truth

Recap: The narrator has escaped the clutches of her past, and started anew in a sprawling city, allowing it to soothe her nerves. Continuing her effort to hide in plain sight, she’s considering a job with an elderly lady looking for a companion.

The soft drone of news plays in the background while I tuck a photograph into the inner sleeve of my purse. It’s funny what I now consider essential.

I interviewed with her on Saturday, slipping off my decomposing mask.

A Cliff Notes version of honesty sufficed, and I sported my flaws like my favorite black dress. We bonded on mutual distaste for social conformity.

Through the lens of hindsight, my previous attempts to change appear like wilted concentric circles. I required a galactic journey, like a shooting star.

I want to learn what it is like to shine for myself.

About the Series:

The above 100-word episode is part of an evolving series titled Hope.

Co-created with the gifted May More, it explores themes of escape, growth, and change, focusing on the ability to think and make choices for yourself.

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Author’s Notes:

Whenever someone asks me what I think, a small wave of panic courses through my system. It’s challenging to respond to that question honestly.

But there was a time when no one asked me for my opinion.

I thought I was living for myself, but the thing is, it was still compliant with what society expected. The lines blurred and intertwined. I kept answering “How are you?” with “Fine” until one day I couldn’t even recognize myself.

From school to offices, you do what everyone wants — what you think they want. And when you complain they turn around and say it was your choice.

But was it? How much did we let them influence our insides?

Life isn’t a series of roles we play for others. We aren’t supposed to know everything beforehand and run an obvious path of error-free contentment.

It takes an eternity to understand what we want. The trick is to never stop.