How Do You Interact with People?

 How do you interact with people? 

Let's say—between your role as a person with feelings, principles, and freedom. Also, your role as a person who needs to socialize. 

It is about how you interact with friends who you only know little about their lives as students, back in your college, with popular girls with the newest iPhones and fancy outfits, or the girl-favorite-faculty who attended every olympiads. those guys who studied hard yet still they met bad grades, or guys who hit on every girl he met. 

It is about how you interact with your siblings. The craziness, the protectiveness, the fights, the matching shoes, the giggles, and the way they snore and hit your face when they fall asleep on your shoulder.

It is about how you interact with the narcissistic people at your work. Dealing with their lies, to the point where you can guess what they're about to say or about to do. You have their lies recorded back in your mind.

It is about how you interact with your parents. The rules you sometimes break, or the foods you serve them deliciously, the kisses on your forehead when they're proud of you, or hugs when you're about to cry. Not to mention the arguments and the doorslams when you enter your room.

It is about how you interact with special persons you've been eyeing on. the excitement when they talk about theur passions or the frustration when they talk about works they hate. that one time they tell you when their knee is in pain during the night drives back from work. or how their late mom taught them to not waste any foods. the krupuk they see in one of my pictures? turn out to be one of their favorites of all time.

It is about how you interact with strangers, like ibu-ibu pecel seller, or those ibu-ibu on a motorbike who turns right eventhough the sign light is definitely to the left. The nods bapak-bapak masjid give you, or the children playing with firecrackers in front of your house in the middle of the night.

I'll take my time to figure things out on how to play my roles. Until then, I hope I can find the tangled knot to straighten the thread again, and everything will be okay in the end.

written with such a heavy heart. 

Solo,

May, 3rd 2022

-Aya