I Cleaned the Whole Kitchen at Midnight

Dear Delyara, I cleaned the whole kitchen at midnight like my life depended on it. It didn’t, obviously. But there are nights when order feels like the only language I still trust. I wiped counters that were already mostly clean. Rearranged mugs. Threw out old receipts. Folded tea towels with more emotional seriousness than they deserved. By the end, the kitchen looked calm. I did not. But something in me had shifted enough to breathe. Maybe that’s why people clean when they’re overwhelmed. Not to solve life. Just to make one corner of it obey.