Where Nobody Knocks Twice #290

My safe place is not so beautiful a space. There is no view, no proper arrangement of cushions, and no music. It's the bathroom. Specifically one of our bathrooms when everything has totally gone silent…

I know how that sounds anyway. But if you grew up in my country and a household like mine, where at least each room has two people in it, though there's no noise, the privacy is not really something to negotiate about. You will understand why I chose the bathroom as my safe place, something close to sacred, and it is always neat. That is one thing I love about it.

While I was growing up, I shared a room with my little brother. And we share a bathroom too. Well, the sitting room is unpredictable because it is an open space for everyone. And outside the house can be filled with visitors I don't have the energy to interact with, and all these small, small flies that always bite. And the room where I can easily sit, be myself, and enjoy my time alone, there is always a sister that will need my attention.

So, sometimes and not for any big or particular reason, I'd go in and sit. Just to think about some things bothering me. Sometimes I am just there to clear my head, my thoughts and not think about anything. And the feeling I usually get those few moments behind the door is the relaxation itself. Not what I did inside.

Though I still do this now. Because it kind of resets my buttons. When I have had a very long and stressful day. When things are weighing on me. When I just require some moments and minutes that truly belong to only me, I always go sit there.

We all have different feelings about relaxation sometimes, and for me, it's always a place that looks peaceful from the outside. And most times, it is this first quiet corner that life gives me, and I never forgot what that felt like.

Thank you for reading.

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