Member-only story
The writer who doesn’t write
Episode 5
I couldn’t continue like that — I was at my breaking point. No one in my family had ever failed a test, and the mere thought of having to resit exams or repeat a year filled me with terror. Ironically, my parents were so blasé about our constant success that failure seemed unthinkable, a lifelong guarantee of disgrace. I knew I would become an object of shame and ridicule, not just for myself but for them as well, casting a shadow over all the credit they had accumulated over the years.
I was too feeble and fickle to stand on my own two feet, but I had no choice — I had to, because there was no other way.
I can’t believe I’m writing all this now. When I first started, I never imagined it would bring me here. It took me right back to those days when I was too young, too weak, too inexperienced, and too depressed to take care of myself. Honestly, I was doing pretty okay up until the fourth episode, but after that, each blank page suddenly became a therapy session. The words began to dig deeper and deeper into the old, rusty memories long buried in oblivion. I started feeling just as lost, as alone, as baffled as I did back then.
Fortunately, though, there are certain perks to being a teen: you’re green enough to still see some light at the end of the tunnel, inexperienced enough to believe you could be…
