Why I keep a playlist of songs I can’t listen to anymoreThere is a playlist on my phone that I rarely open. Its cover is an unremarkable photograph of a pale sky, and its title means nothing to anyone else. Inside…The Sandals That Carried Me Through A Summer Of GoodbyesBy the time summer arrived, I had become skilled at leaving quietly. I could fold a farewell into the last sip of coffee, the final load of washing, the spare…What A Lipstick Stain On A Coffee Cup RevealsA lipstick mark on a coffee cup can look like an accident, a flirtation, or a tiny piece of evidence. Left behind on a café table, it carries the colour of a…Finding the right words for a door closing after goodbyeA door can close in a second, yet the sound may remain long after the person has left. It can mark a breakup, a departure, a death, or the quiet moment when…The t-shirt I wore until it had more holes than memoriesThere are clothes we buy for a season and clothes that quietly become witnesses. This was an old cotton t-shirt, soft from too many washes, stretched at the…The quiet comfort of a familiar storyThere is a particular comfort in a story you’ve told a hundred times. You know where the laugh belongs, which detail still catches in your throat, and the…Why I Write About Empty Chairs When I’m Missing SomeoneWhen I miss someone, I rarely begin with their face. I notice the space they have left behind: the chair opposite me at a café, the seat beside me on the…The Ring I Took Off But Never Put AwayThere are objects we remove from our bodies long before we remove them from our lives. A ring can leave a finger in a single afternoon, yet remain in the back…How a Missed Call Can Motivate a Fictional CharacterA missed call looks insignificant on a phone screen: one number, one timestamp, one small red notification. In a story, however, it can become a pressure…What A Packed Bag That Never Got Used Says About HopeA packed bag can become a quiet record of a life that almost happened. It may sit behind a bedroom door, beneath a desk, or in the boot of a car, holding…