Just like yesterday, today follows the same predictable
pattern. The mundane routine of waking up, going to
work, staring at the phone, and going to bed seemed
to immerse me in a sea of traditional words. The once
sweet sound of breathing now felt ordinary, and the
ideas that once sparked excitement had grown old.
It made me wonder, why does the view of normalcy dull
the sweetness of life?
In the hustle of everyday life, the response to "How's it
going?" is often a simple "normal." But when the notion
of "everything is normal" becomes a rigid frame, it blinds
us to the complexities that lie behind the invisible. Just
as there is darkness on one side of the shining moon,
there exists an unseen world of darkness in everyone's life.
People we encounter daily—a cheerful sales clerk, a
sibling at home—carry burdens we might not see. A
solitary individual may hide the pain of losing a best
friend. Everyone possesses a hidden world, a dark side,
concealed from the casual observer.
One evening at a betel nut shop near the pagoda, my
friend and I observed an elderly woman quietly sitting
with a small cup in front of her and a rag wrapped around
her head. The shopkeeper's older brother noticed our
curiosity and shared a poignant tale.
Around 7 p.m., an old man dropped the elderly lady off
on a motorcycle, leaving her there until around 8 p.m.
when he returned to take her away. The chilling winter
night raised questions about her well-being. Why was she
left alone? Did she have children? In a world with numerous
nursing homes, why was she left on the street?
That night, the image of the old woman lingered in my
houghts. Curiosity fueled my desire to understand the
ivisible world she inhabited—the side of the moon that
remains hidden from everyone's view. Outside, the moon
stood steady, casting its cool light on the winter night.
As I gazed at the moon, a smile played on my lips. Was
it mockery, pity, or simply a reflection of the complexities
of life? The moon, too, disappeared behind the clouds.
Returning to the dormitory, I grabbed a small notebook
and began to write about the unseen world that piqued
my curiosity, entitling it:
The Other Side of the Moon
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Thanks for reading
I am @alynnyaung