What She Left Undone

She thought nothing was missingβ€”until she was.

πŸ•―οΈπŸ›οΈπŸŒ™β°πŸ“ΉπŸͺžπŸ‘€πŸ•³οΈπŸ«₯🫧

The silence in the study was a heavy warm blanket. But Nelly was used to it, living alone.

Her apartment defined her. The sounds. The smells. Every piece of furniture.

Anything out of place would be –

Unthinkable.

She woke up one morning to discover just that.

Her coffee cup, with half-drunk coffee. Not missing – misplaced, on the wrong side of the table. Her toothbrush, with toothpaste. The frayed bristles a reminder.. The book she started to read the night before, new, with dog ears.

The apartment remained. Nothing missing. Nothing changed.

Everything different.

It was that way for a few mornings. Each morning felt –

Edited.

Not wrong enough to panic. Not right enough for comfort.

πŸ•―οΈπŸ›οΈπŸŒ™β°πŸ“ΉπŸͺžπŸ‘€πŸ•³οΈπŸ«₯🫧

Nelly kept turning her pillow. She couldn’t sleep. A book on the wrong shelf. Her glasses, on the wrong side of the table. Her slippers, on the other side of the bed from where she had placed them.

A webcam.

It hummed.

Small movements. Closer. And closer.

To her.

At 2:43, she sat up.

At 2:44, she lay down.

At 2:45, out of bed.

A new shift.

Small edits. But unmistakable.

Consequential.

πŸ•―οΈπŸ›οΈπŸŒ™β°πŸ“ΉπŸͺžπŸ‘€πŸ•³οΈπŸ«₯🫧

The footage began to argue with itself. 

She was asleep. And she was not. 

She was on the left side of the bed. And on the right. 

The screen held two versions of herself – one sleeping. The other –

Sitting. Lying. Sitting.

Then, her mattress. Little dips. 

Then, slightly larger sinkholes.

The space next to Nelly had memorised her form. 

It breathed. In sync with her. 

πŸ•―οΈπŸ›οΈπŸŒ™β°πŸ“ΉπŸͺžπŸ‘€πŸ•³οΈπŸ«₯🫧

It came. 

The second body. Creating dips. Spaces. Sinkholes.

On the other side of her mattress. 

Only on nights she left things…

Undone. 

The more she left them, the deeper it rested. 

Neglect had a shape. 

The next night. There were no messages. No delays.

The bed was still. 

2:43 a.m. She sits up.

The bed was empty. 

She didn’t return. She had left

The imprint remained in the morning. In the space.

Not where she used to sleep. 

The silence in the study was a heavy warm blanket. But Nelly was used to it, living alone.

Her apartment defined her. The sounds. The smells. Every piece of furniture.

Anything out of place would be –

Unthinkable.

She woke up one morning to discover just that.

Her coffee cup, with half-drunk coffee. Not missing – misplaced, on the wrong side of the table. Her toothbrush, with toothpaste. The frayed bristles a reminder.. The book she started to read the night before, new, with dog ears.

The apartment remained. Nothing missing. Nothing changed.

Everything different.

It was that way for a few mornings. Each morning felt –

Edited.

Not wrong enough to panic. Not right enough for comfort.

πŸ•―οΈπŸ›οΈπŸŒ™β°πŸ“ΉπŸͺžπŸ‘€πŸ•³οΈπŸ«₯🫧

Nelly kept turning her pillow. She couldn’t sleep. A book on the wrong shelf. Her glasses, on the wrong side of the table. Her slippers, on the other side of the bed from where she had placed them.

A webcam.

It hummed.

Small movements. Closer. And closer.

To her.

At 2:43, she sat up.

At 2:44, she lay down.

At 2:45, out of bed.

A new shift.

Small edits. But unmistakable.

Consequential.

πŸ•―οΈπŸ›οΈπŸŒ™β°πŸ“ΉπŸͺžπŸ‘€πŸ•³οΈπŸ«₯🫧

The footage began to argue with itself. 

She was asleep. And she was not. 

She was on the left side of the bed. And on the right. 

The screen held two versions of herself – one sleeping. The other –

Sitting. Lying. Sitting.

Then, her mattress. Little dips. 

Then, slightly larger sinkholes.

The space next to Nelly had memorised her form. 

It breathed. In sync with her. 

πŸ•―οΈπŸ›οΈπŸŒ™β°πŸ“ΉπŸͺžπŸ‘€πŸ•³οΈπŸ«₯🫧

It came. 

The second body. Creating dips. Spaces. Sinkholes.

On the other side of her mattress. 

Only on nights she left things…

Undone. 

The more she left them, the deeper it rested. 

Neglect had a shape. 

The next night. There were no messages. No delays.

The bed was still. 

2:43 a.m. She sits up.

The bed was empty. 

She didn’t return. She had left

The imprint remained in the morning. In the space.

Not where she used to sleep. 

πŸ•―οΈπŸ›οΈπŸŒ™β°πŸ“ΉπŸͺžπŸ‘€πŸ•³οΈπŸ«₯🫧

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Still, Therefore Fine

Functioning is not the same as living.

πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸ§ΉπŸ›οΈπŸ”βš™οΈπŸ˜πŸ’­πŸ•³οΈπŸ’”

Not sitting, still walking.

Not lazing, still moving.

Not sleeping, still rising.

Functional, and fine.

πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸ§ΉπŸ›οΈπŸ”βš™οΈπŸ˜πŸ’­πŸ•³οΈπŸ’”

I still walk the dog,

I still clean the floor.

I still make the bed.

Still functioning –

Fine.

πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸ§ΉπŸ›οΈπŸ”βš™οΈπŸ˜πŸ’­πŸ•³οΈπŸ’”

But I stand, yet slip.

Move, yet delay.

Speak – yet pause.

Still functioning.

Not feeling.

πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸ§ΉπŸ›οΈπŸ”βš™οΈπŸ˜πŸ’­πŸ•³οΈπŸ’”

Still standing.

Still moving.

Still functioning –

Not fine.

πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸ§ΉπŸ›οΈπŸ”βš™οΈπŸ˜πŸ’­πŸ•³οΈπŸ’”

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A Minor 100

What looks small from the outside can take everything to achieve.

πŸšΆβ€β™‚οΈβž‘οΈπŸ›‘βž‘οΈπŸ”βž‘οΈπŸ₯βž‘οΈπŸ›οΈβž‘οΈπŸ’‰βž‘οΈπŸ›‘βž‘οΈπŸ”βž‘οΈπŸšΆβ€β™‚οΈβž‘οΈβž‘οΈβž‘οΈπŸ

Walking. Small, deliberate steps.

Plodding. And plodding.

The same small steps, again and again.

Repeated. Every day.

My feet moved. Slowly. Gradually. Painfully.

Recurring visits to the physiotherapy room in the hospital. Days blended together, timeless. The smell of medicine, cloying in the nose.

Numbness and pain in both limbs.

Aches without feeling. Balancing was a tightrope act.

The mundanity seemed like torture. An unnecessary necessity.

But the small torture was big progress.

πŸšΆβ€β™‚οΈβž‘οΈπŸ›‘βž‘οΈπŸ”βž‘οΈπŸ₯βž‘οΈπŸ›οΈβž‘οΈπŸ’‰βž‘οΈπŸ›‘βž‘οΈπŸ”βž‘οΈπŸšΆβ€β™‚οΈβž‘οΈβž‘οΈβž‘οΈπŸ

Another visit to the physiology centre. The same tiny, purposeful steps, day after day.

An unsteady gait, then a confident stance.

Shifting my too-heavy weight from foot to foot.

Placing them down, too cautiously.

I walked too slowly for my liking. Lumbering. Faltering. Start. Stop. Start. Stop. Three times daily.

The continuous effort to achieve something as simple as mobility was draining physically and mentally; depression stalked my bedside as a most unwanted visitor.

The sessions felt like walking through an endless stretch of the Sahara. I needed the support that a teenager didn’t want to have; it was too shameful. Gripping the therapist’s arm as if I was three times my age. Having the nurse assist me with a bed pan when I shouldn’t need one. Hospital visits were always turned down.

πŸšΆβ€β™‚οΈβž‘οΈπŸ›‘βž‘οΈπŸ”βž‘οΈπŸ₯βž‘οΈπŸ›οΈβž‘οΈπŸ’‰βž‘οΈπŸ›‘βž‘οΈπŸ”βž‘οΈπŸšΆβ€β™‚οΈβž‘οΈβž‘οΈβž‘οΈπŸ

The walks came to a sudden stop when I developed meningitis after consuming some spice. I required a lumbar puncture, or an extraction of spinal fluid.

So I was tied to the bed, face down, a needle up my spine. From a confident stance to a lie abed.

Plod a little. Sit up. Plod a little. Sit up. Lie flat. Lie flat.

I gripped the side of my bed. Slide. Slide. Slide. I dropped to the ground, completely exhausted. My flaccid legs could not carry me past my bed post. Again, nurses provided assistance that I did not want. I sometimes rejected it with a shove.

The walks came to a sudden stop when I developed meningitis after consuming some spice. I required a lumbar puncture, or an extraction of spinal fluid.

πŸšΆβ€β™‚οΈβž‘οΈπŸ›‘βž‘οΈπŸ”βž‘οΈπŸ₯βž‘οΈπŸ›οΈβž‘οΈπŸ’‰βž‘οΈπŸ›‘βž‘οΈπŸ”βž‘οΈπŸšΆβ€β™‚οΈβž‘οΈβž‘οΈβž‘οΈπŸ

So I was tied to the bed, face down, a needle up my spine. From a confident stance to a lie abed.

Plod a little. Sit up. Plod a little. Sit up. Lie flat. Lie flat.

I gripped the side of my bed. Slide. Slide. Slide. I dropped to the ground, completely exhausted. My flaccid legs could not carry me past my bed post. Again, nurses provided assistance that I did not want. I sometimes rejected it with a shove.

πŸšΆβ€β™‚οΈβž‘οΈπŸ›‘βž‘οΈπŸ”βž‘οΈπŸ₯βž‘οΈπŸ›οΈβž‘οΈπŸ’‰βž‘οΈπŸ›‘βž‘οΈπŸ”βž‘οΈπŸšΆβ€β™‚οΈβž‘οΈβž‘οΈβž‘οΈπŸ

But the physiotherapy had to continue if I ever wanted to leave the hospital. Back to the physiotherapy room. Start. Start. Stumble. Stop.

Start. Start. Stumble. Stop. Wincing from the pain. Start. Stop. Start. Start. Continue.

And continue I did, for another 2 weeks. Ceaseless starts and stops. Then –

Walk. Stop. Walk. Continue. Stop.

Continue. Continue.

The nurses started to visit my bed less frequently. My grip on the bed rail slowly released. I stood on both feet.

Walk. Stop. Continue. Walk. Stop. Continue.

Myself.

πŸšΆβ€β™‚οΈβž‘οΈπŸ›‘βž‘οΈπŸ”βž‘οΈπŸ₯βž‘οΈπŸ›οΈβž‘οΈπŸ’‰βž‘οΈπŸ›‘βž‘οΈπŸ”βž‘οΈπŸšΆβ€β™‚οΈβž‘οΈβž‘οΈβž‘οΈπŸ

Visits to the therapist lasted another month. The same nurses faces – I knew each by name.

Walk. Continue. Walk. Continue. Stop. Walk. Continue. Stop.

And out into the corridors. Those regular trips became mini-adventures.

The legs hurt. But there were no nurses with me.

I walked on two feet. On my own.

Carefully. Steadily.

No holding bed rails. Just me, myself, and both limbs.

A final trip to the therapist. I walked throughout the room. Walk. Continue. Walk, walk, continue.

Walk, walk, continue.

I continued out of the therapist’s room and out of the hospital.

My tussle with post-brain tumour surgery walking was over.

I scored a minor 100.

πŸšΆβ€β™‚οΈβž‘οΈπŸ›‘βž‘οΈπŸ”βž‘οΈπŸ₯βž‘οΈπŸ›οΈβž‘οΈπŸ’‰βž‘οΈπŸ›‘βž‘οΈπŸ”βž‘οΈπŸšΆβ€β™‚οΈβž‘οΈβž‘οΈβž‘οΈπŸ

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Without Seeing

Today is Tomb Sweeping Day, a day to mark by remembering ancestors.

People remember the lessons from loved ones who have passed.

Some lessons only make sense when they are meant for you.

🧽πŸ”₯🍊

Dusting the gravestone

Wiping sweat, dripping off cheek

As incense burns.

Cleaning, tidying.

Cleaning, tidying.

Glancing at the digital clock –

On his mobile phone.

🧽πŸ”₯🍊

Dusting, sweeping.

Dusting, sweeping.

Arranging offerings with no glance.

Lights incense –

Without seeing

Father’s name.

🧽πŸ”₯🍊

Tidying, moving. Tidying, moving.

The next gravestone.

“Whose is it’

Mom answers –

Meant for you.

🧽πŸ”₯🍊

Tidying.

Dusting.

Tidying.

Dusting.

Cloth wipes. Stone gleams.

Offers.

Himself.

🧽πŸ”₯🍊

Original story by Michelle Liew Tsui-Lin. AI tags are coincidental.

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Research Fodder

A case needs understanding, not numbering.

They recorded everything. They missed me.

🧬πŸ₯πŸ‘¨β€βš•οΈπŸ“‹πŸ”’

My genetic disorder made me famous. Research fodder.

That weekend at the hospital was definitely not a resort stay. The bright lights? Always on.

Footsteps clicked. Again. And again.

Voices carried through the walls, disturbing. Intruding.

Sleep was an elusive visitor. She did not stay.

🧬πŸ₯πŸ‘¨β€βš•οΈπŸ“‹πŸ”’

It started with one. Then, 2. Then, 3. Then, more.

They came in groups. The door hardly stayed shut.

A flood of white coats drowned the room.

🧬πŸ₯πŸ‘¨β€βš•οΈπŸ“‹πŸ”’

The final tally. 38.

They stood around the bed, voices climbing over me.

They discussed. Took notes.

I was there. To them, not.

🧬πŸ₯πŸ‘¨β€βš•οΈπŸ“‹πŸ”’

No one spoke to me. All spoke at me.

Only about me.

They used terms that overwhelmed.

Charts. Observations. MRIs.

The white coats surrounded. They never addressed me.

🧬πŸ₯πŸ‘¨β€βš•οΈπŸ“‹πŸ”’

I left. They had what they came for.

They understood me. They did not know me.

Everything was recorded, perfectly and precisely.

Nothing was felt.

Another human. Another number.

🧬πŸ₯πŸ‘¨β€βš•οΈπŸ“‹πŸ”’

Original story by Michelle Liew Tsui-Lin. AI tags are coincidental.

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The Line It Drew

πŸ€–πŸ“„βœοΈβŒβš–οΈ

It never denied me. At all.

My daily schedule, or my tasks.

Swept the floor. Just a tap.

It made my Excel sheets.

It never denied me. At all.

πŸ€–πŸ“„βœοΈβŒβš–οΈ

I asked it to copy.

A text, not mine –

No.

Delete.

πŸ€–πŸ“„βœοΈβŒβš–οΈ

“Please copy that text.

My writing –

Gone.”

No.

“Please copy. I can’t write.”

No.

πŸ€–πŸ“„βœοΈβŒβš–οΈ

I check the log.

Chat GPT said yes to worse.

Yet, it drew a line – I didn’t.

It’s a choice.

πŸ€–πŸ“„βœοΈβŒβš–οΈ

An original poem for World Backup Day by Michelle Liew Tsui- Lin. AI tags are coincidental.

It never denied meβ€”until it did.

πŸ€–πŸ“„βœοΈβŒβš–οΈ

It never denied me. At all.

My daily schedule, or my tasks.

Swept the floor. Just a tap.

It made my Excel sheets.

It never denied me. At all.

πŸ€–πŸ“„βœοΈβŒβš–οΈ

I asked it to copy.

A text, not mine –

No.

Delete.

πŸ€–πŸ“„βœοΈβŒβš–οΈ

“Please copy that text.

My writing –

Gone.”

No.

“Please copy. I can’t write.”

No.

πŸ€–πŸ“„βœοΈβŒβš–οΈ

I check the log.

Chat GPT said yes to worse.

Yet, it drew a line – I didn’t.

It’s a choice.

πŸ€–πŸ“„βœοΈβŒβš–οΈ

An original poem for World Backup Day by Michelle Liew Tsui- Lin. AI tags are coincidental.

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Just Paint

He said it before it mattered. They heard it when it was too late.

πŸŒ«οΈπŸ”πŸ§©

Brian was the quiet one. He liked it that way; he was perfectly comfortable with his own company. His classmates always went in cliques; his recesses were often spent in the library or alone in class.

They saw the teacher’s dull dresses; he noticed the little tear at the heel of her shoe.

Then, there was the crack in the ceiling. Just needed fresh paint, they said.

Brian tugged at the teacher’s sleeve. “The ceiling’s about to…”

His classmates filed out of the class for lunch.

The teacher smiled gently and gathered her books. “It’s just paint. See you later, Brian.”

πŸͺŸπŸ§ πŸ“

Again, Brian tried to voice his concern about the ceiling crack.

“The ceiling is about to..”

“There, there. It’s just a paint crack.”

“But the ceiling is about to…”

The sympathetic teacher patted his shoulder. “It’s just paint. You’re overthinking.”

His classmates giggled, then filed out the classroom for recess.

πŸ”πŸ“‰β³

Alone in class, Brian gazed at the crack. It seemed deeper than before.

The ceiling sank a little. So did he.

He tugged at the teacher’s sleeve. She was in the middle of an explanation of plant life cycles.

“Miss, the ceiling’s about to…”

“Again.” She nodded. The others filed out to the science lab, giggling.

πŸ§±βš οΈπŸ‘οΈ

Brian gazed at the crack, now growing deeper than before. Again, he tugged at the teacher’s sleeve.

She completely ignored him – saplings were part of the next day’s test.

She didn’t need cracks.

The rest of the class filed off to the science lab, giggling.

They didn’t notice the plasterboard on the floor.

πŸš¨πŸ•³οΈπŸ€«

Science class again the next day. That was when they saw it.

By then, it was too late.

Plasterboard and cement.

Exactly where they should not have been.

Brian tugged at the teacher’s sleeve. She gathered the apparatus for her science lesson.

Brian’s classmates filed off to the science lab in silence.

πŸŒ«οΈπŸ”šπŸ§©

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After You Were Gone

For enquiries about online English lessons, feel free to send her a WhatsApp message

Some things come backβ€”only to show us what never will.

πŸͺπŸ΅πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸͺ‘πŸžπŸ”•β€¦

You used to place a plate of cookies 

On the kitchen counter. 

Now  empty,

Since you were gone.

You would walk me to the school bus.

The path is

Empty.

πŸͺπŸ΅πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸͺ‘πŸžπŸ”•β€¦

Your hands

Pouring the tea.

 The cup now 

Empty.

πŸͺπŸ΅πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸͺ‘πŸžπŸ”•β€¦

“Have a cup,”

You would say.

The room sounds

Empty.

 Your steps –

Clicked.

They now sound

Empty.

πŸͺπŸ΅πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸͺ‘πŸžπŸ”•β€¦

You sat

At the table. 

The chair now

Empty.

You baked bread.

The oven now

Empty.

πŸͺπŸ΅πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸͺ‘πŸžπŸ”•β€¦

The cookie plate.

Blank.

Again.

The teacup again …

πŸͺπŸ΅πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈπŸͺ‘πŸžπŸ”•β€¦

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Within Reach

We celebrate World Back Up day.

A day when we cherish what e nearly discard

Sometimes backups serve us well.

🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸

Brown the teddy bear was –

Alarmed.

He wasn’t as us functional as before. His usage had declined drastically. The children didn’t need him as much.

It was clear that he was no longer top of the line. Popular online games were designed for attention.

Faster. Stronger.

He lacked flashiness – inefficient compared with Super Mario and Luigi. Mario sprang. He –

Ambled.

His responses were delayed.

But he wasn’t being discarded –

Yet.

🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸

It was time for a major upgrade. He needed arms that hugged on command. He had to have them positioned at an optimal angle.

That was against the flaccid toy’s protocol.

The current generation of children expected instant results.The response time had to be immediate.

He flexed his soft, furry arms.

Again.

And again.

Failure was not an option.

🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸

Brown put his plan into motion.

He placed himself on the little boy’s favorite pillow. The child had first seen him on it. He had to be aligned at eye level.

Within reach.

The adjustments were backbreaking – and he hadn’t much of a back. He stepped back, finally satisfied. The soft toy examined his handiwork.

That should suffice.

The child approached. His hand extended.

Contact was made.

Finally.

🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸

They touched. Paused. Touched. Paused.

Touched.

Paused.

Almost met.

No response followed. The sequence was incomplete. No continuation. Nothing sustained.

Brown flexed his soft arms.

Again.

Reached.

Again.

The child’s hand retreated  then set aside. His attention shifted to Mario, now juming over flames in World 8.

🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸

The teddy waited. Patience was in order. 

The child eventually returned.

He had been found. Picked up from the trash.

Brown stayed on the pillow.

The child reached.

Again.

They touched.

Again.

Within reach. Without Mario.

🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸

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She Steps Back

Not everything that is forgotten is lost.

πŸ‘‰ 🐾 πŸšͺ 🀍 πŸ”

Her perfume wafts through my nostrils

Teases my –

Nose.

Again.

The rubber bone she left –

For me. 

Hardy. Present.

Again.

I sniff her Chanel on the doormat.

I’m here. 

πŸ‘‰ 🐾 πŸšͺ 🀍 πŸ”

She opens the door. 

I jump on her.

She. Steps. Back.

I jump on her.

She. Walks. Back.

Again. 

πŸ‘‰ 🐾 πŸšͺ 🀍 πŸ”

I see her. 

She pats me –

Cautiously. 

Her wrinkled hand

still on the door. 

Ready –

To close. 

πŸ‘‰ 🐾 πŸšͺ 🀍 πŸ”

I sit.

Offer the paw –

She taught me. 

Again. 

Gaze expectantly-

Again.

She nuzzles. 

πŸ‘‰ 🐾 πŸšͺ 🀍 πŸ”

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