I Was Fine Until I Heard Their Voice

Dear Delyara, I was managing the day well until I got that phone call. Not even a bad call. Just the sound of a certain voice bringing back a version of me I don’t like becoming — smaller, more careful, more defensive without meaning to be. It’s frustrating how quickly the body remembers old dynamics. One sentence and suddenly I’m no longer reacting as the person I am now. I’m reacting from somewhere younger. I wish growth worked in a straight line. It doesn’t.