I wanted someone else to hear the machine beep

Dear Delyara, That small sound has become a symbol in my life. The washing machine finishes and somehow the responsibility travels through the walls straight into me, as if the appliance and my nervous system are in a private relationship no one else in the house knows about. The same with the tumble dryer. The oven timer. The school app. The dishwasher. Everything that signals “a next step is now required” seems to find me first. Tonight, when the machine beeped, I actually stayed still for a few seconds just to see if anyone else would react. No one did. Of course I got up in the end. I’m not sure what I expected. Still, the experiment made me feel strangely sad.