在一个平凡的工作日常里，林 sweet（甜）正在地铁上 scrolling her phone when the doors open and a familiar face appears. Her heart skips a beat as she spots her best friend, Zara, looking like a completely different person. Zara’s eyes are downcast, hands clamped into fists, but deep in her voice says something that makes Lin’s stomach churn.
“Did you see my new phone?” Zara blurts out, her usually carefree demeanor suddenly strained and tense. “It’s so thin! I think it might fall apart at the first drop.” Lin can’t help but laugh, though the smile falters as she looks down at her own phone in hand.
“Alright,” Zara says between bites of chips, trying to act casual but clearly her frustration is showing. “Just imagine how excited I am to finally get rid of this thing!” She gestures vaguely toward her apartment, leaving Lin a bit puzzled but more than willing to listen.
“It’s not just the phone,” Zara continues, her voice dropping like a stone. “It’s the whole lifestyle. You think you can just stop worrying about bills and taxes? I try to save as much as possible… but then there’s always something else!”
As they walk home together, Zara’s words spiral into a deeper conversation about money, stress, and how it affects even the happiest relationships. Lin finds herself drawn into Zara’s world, not just because of her excitement over life changes, but also because she can see how hard it must be to balance all these demands.
By the time they reach their destination, the city sounds like a distant hum in the background compared to the chaos inside them. Both women look at each other with a mixture of exhaustion and understanding. They know they’re not going to solve everything Zara is going through, but just knowing she has someone to talk to makes all the difference.
“I think I need to find more ways to manage my money,” Zara admits as they settle into their seats inside Zara’s apartment. “It’s not healthy to let stress take over everything.” Lin nods in agreement, feeling a strange sense of solidarity with someone she’d never met before.
As the train comes to a stop, Zara looks back one last time at the window where they were sitting. “I’m sorry,” she says, her voice still tinged with something soft despite how strained it seems. “I just want things to get better for me.” Lin takes a moment to watch them disappear into the horizon before turning and heading home, the memory of Zara’s words lacing through her thoughts as she walks.
“I’ll miss you,” she whispers to the empty phone in her hand. The screen flickers lifelessly in response, but Lin doesn’t mind that one bit.
—
