Day 132: 19 March 2026

 Short Story -- The Weight 

She woke up not remembering the dream itself but the feeling of it. The weight of it. Something she simultaneously wanted to find again and push away from.

She brushed her hair and washed her face. She ate breakfast and brushed her teeth. She made coffee and she headed to work.

Still, there was a weight.

And she couldn’t even remember what the dream was about! It was like a flavour or a smell that you knew you recognized but couldn’t place.

At work, she settled in at her desk. Opened, read and replied to emails. Exchanged polite conversation with coworkers. Worked on a pitch for an upcoming project. Contacted vendors about a project she was already assigned to.

Gradually the weight feeling eased.

She had lunch with a few coworkers outside at a picnic table. She bought a sandwich at the cafeteria. Tuna fish.

The afternoon looked much like the morning.

And then it was time to go home.

In her flat, she changed into leggings and a Tshirt, put in her ear buds and went for a run. Three miles. She was glad the days were getting longer and that it had been sunnier as well. She ran past a few regulars that she saw habitually. She didn’t know their names. Other runners, a few dog walkers. They nodded at each other. Both familiar and unfamiliar all at once.

Back home, she showered and put on a soft pair of pyjamas. She heated up some leftovers in the microwave and curled up on the couch holding the bowl of food to watch 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown reruns.

At 10:30pm, she rinsed out the bowl and set it by the sink.

She padded softly down the hallway. She brushed her teeth, turned out the lights and crawled into bed.

She dreamed of her grandmother.

She’d lived her grandmother dearly. But she’d passed away a few years ago. In the dream though, she was still alive. They were sitting together in her grandmother’s wide, wrap around porch, drinking iced tea and watching the sun set.

‘When are you going to stop just getting by and start living?’ Her grandmother queried. ‘Stop making yourself small. You are capable of so much more.’