I Put the Shoes Back in a Neater Line Than Anyone Asked For

Dear Delyara, No one would have cared if they stayed crooked. I know that. Still, I lined them up. School shoes, trainers, my own boots, my husband’s work shoes slightly to one side. I made the hallway look more organised than life currently felt, and that small act brought a ridiculous amount of relief with it. I think some days order is the only mercy I know how to create with my hands. Not because I’m naturally tidy. Because visual chaos can feel like one more thing entering a nervous system that already has too much in it. One more object asking to be noticed. One more tiny demand. The shoes looked calm when I finished. For one second, I did too.