After two friends fall out, I open the group chat every Sunday night
After two friends fall out, every new message in the group chat on Sunday night leaves me wondering whose message to answer.
Scenes
- After they fight, the group chat won’t stay quiet — Every Sunday night after my friends fall out, a group chat alert leaves me wondering whose message to answer first.
- They each confide in me separately — One friend told me their side, and the other reached out separately, too. Neither knows what the other said.
- A message I pass on starts another fight — Passing one friend’s words to the other can add my own take, which wasn’t part of the original fight.
- You don’t have to answer for them — Their disagreement is theirs to work through. I get to decide how much of what they say I take on.
- Tonight, try pausing before passing messages on — When you reply, try writing, “I won’t pass that along.” You don’t have to decide how they’ll respond.
- Leave the next conversation to them — The words I don’t pass on are theirs to share directly. I can take care of my own words.
Stories by Cheongun
- Cheongun
- On payday, Dad asked me to pass that along
- At the light, I think of what I want to say to my family.
- At lunch, I want to choose my child’s career path for them.
- When I step out after washing and stand before the mirror, the comparisons in my family come back to me.
- After the meeting, the plans and the spur-of-the-moment ideas clash again.
- When we get home from work, the first thing we talk about at the door is caring for our parents.
- As we left the exam room, Mom asked first.
- We put off the decision again while doing the dishes