#aquietanswer

A QUIET ANSWER — Episode 04

Why Does “I’m Fine” Feel Safer?

Sometimes “I’m fine” comes out before we have checked anything inside.

At work. At the counter. In a family message. In a friend’s apartment.

Two small words doing the work of a whole essay nobody had time to write.

Maybe “I’m fine” was never only a lie.

Maybe it was a small closed sign hanging on a room that still had someone inside.

A QUIET ANSWER — Episode 03

Why Do I Apologize When I Haven’t Done Anything?

I started an email with three apologies.

Sorry for the late reply. Sorry if this is too much. Sorry to bother you.

Then the actual question. A small one.

Nothing had gone wrong.

But the apologies were already there, stacked at the top of the message like a small wall I was building before walking into the room.

Maybe some apologies are not about guilt.

Maybe they are old permission slips we keep showing at doorways where no one is actually stopping us.

A QUIET ANSWER — Episode 02

Why Do People Need Strange Reasons to Rest?

I read three paragraphs about a sick dog.

The dog wasn’t the problem. The three paragraphs were.

Maybe strange reasons are not always lies.

Maybe they are small receipts for a kind of exhaustion the world has not learned how to accept without proof.