We do so without fear of scrutiny. Of accusing eyes.
Today is No Diet Day, when weight watchers take a break from keeping their eyes on their weight.
We forget the courtroom, the hammer and the pedestal.
***
Mangoes
In my palm.
Pur sweetness.
Then, my eyes on–
The sugar. Sodum. Fat.
A man grabs snacks.
With abandon.
They fly neatly-
in packs, into the trolley.
I turn green.
***
The Family.
Voices at the dinner table.
Loud. Lingering.
“Too much.” “Beware.”
“Too much.” Beware”
Fried chicken
Dances in front of her eyes.
They chomp.
***
Late.
Rain falls.
I break.
Tough drops. Hard taps.
Butter melts. Soaks–
The bread. But–
It warms my heart.
***
My body was not unkind. It–
Adjusted. Stayed. Endured.
The world translated weight
To mumbers.
I taste –
Slowly. Calmly.
Without a hammer
Or a pedestal.
***
Original story by Michelle Liew Tsui-Lin. AI tags are coincidental.
Mirrors of the Mind by Michelle Liew is a collection of psychological and supernatural short stories that explore the quiet unease beneath ordinary moments. These are not tales of spectacle, but of subtle fracture — where memory distorts, silence speaks, and the self is not always singular. In these stories, what is unseen often carries the greatest weight, and what lingers is not what is shown, but what is felt.
