How to reveal a secret

... and a list of what I've been loving lately

Jan 21, 2022

greyscale photo of three of the same women sitting, talking on the telephone, and reading — Photo by Boston Public Library on Unsplash

The sandwich:

A secret casually slipped between two innocuous layers: of jokes and daily messages; an emoji and an LOL. Hiding in the cracks of everydayness like an ugly surprise, an ingredient that isn’t quite right.

The obvious:

A secret laid bare, bald on the kitchen table in the spur of a drunken moment, the air leaden with tension and anticipation. Despite trying to avoid it, it lays in the periphery of one’s vision, sticking out at first but slowly becoming a part of the tablescape.

The ghat:

A secret that waits at the end of an agonisingly long wind-up, a narrative journey on twisting roads through forested hills. Each hairpin curve is an opportunity to double back, an attempt at escape — but not good enough to lead back to safe ground.

The recipe:

A secret laid over a bottom layer of testing the water. Throw in three cups of practicality. Set it aside to rise (in anger, perhaps, or shock, or numb relief). Feed with a dash of philosophising as per taste.

The vault:

A secret in a cage behind bars behind a thick door in a steel vault behind a drawbridge that never comes down. Unlike Houdini, escape is impossible.

And now, for this month’s recommendations. This month had five Saturdays so it feels a bit like I was being cheated of my once-in-two-weeks rhythm. Yet, I persist.