Locky just celebrated his eleventh birthday ten days ago (23 May 2026). On the left is his first picture on the first day he arrived at my house (5 September 2015). He is my sunshine, my best friend, my best therapist, and my everything. Someday, he will break my heart, and it will be irreparable, but for now, let me give him the best life.
I don’t see my neighbor often. I keep everything to myself and just crawl out once in a while to get my deliveries, hissing, “My preciousss.”
I live in a quiet cluster that consists of ten houses: five on the right, five on the left. The walls are touching, and we all share one small dead-end alley as access connecting us to the neighborhood road. Only three houses were occupied when I moved in, and the other two inhabitants were people like me, who were very reserved. We enjoyed the quietness and solitude.
Eventually, people started to move in. It’s still considered a peaceful place compared to others, although it can be noisy when there is construction and rowdy kids. I was invited to some housewarmings (I think they felt that they had to, it's a polite and friendly culture here). Nothing here is small-scaled because any event almost always involves the whole family. It was not something I could survive, so I purposely stayed out until the day was over, but I did give them cards and housewarming gifts.
Eventually, despite all my efforts, they become familiar with my Gollum face because I still need to go around and sweep the leaves in front of my fence. Thankfully, they are quite alright and kind from the way they treat the strays around (I judge people based on that). I can see that they try to respect my privacy and understand that my hideous grin is the best I can do.
However, I get to chat more often with this woman next door. She is kind and always helps to sweep the ground outside my fence without me asking. She is also someone I ask or someone who would tell me if I haven’t seen a regular stray for a while. So, we do engage in small talk now and then. By this time, I had stayed here for around a decade.
One day, without being prompted, she declared, “You should look for a spouse.” Spouse. Not a relationship, not a companion, not a date. Spouse. She bypassed everything and said that with all seriousness, adding that she could introduce me to someone. We were just saying hi and exchanging remarks about the falling leaves, and I had moved inside, almost reaching my front door.
After I picked up my jaw, I told her I have been happily married for over two decades. I guess she mistook my spouse for a family member who visited now and then, and she never questioned my absence once in a while.
She apologized and thankfully didn’t say anything more besides initial surprise. I guess she can live in peace now that I’m not a solitary cave Gollum.
In my experience, most people don't
take it kindly when they learn about long-distance relationships. They would
become judgmental and offer unsolicited advice that is obviously close-minded,
centered around ‘it won’t work.’ I have met many people who have the same
long-distance relationship, and they received the same judgment. It's weird
that people feel they need to inject themselves, and to my amazement, these
people are usually not close friends or close relatives who wonder why I avoid
them when every time they see me, they want to know my groin activity and
possibly goblins that might come out from that. To her credit, my neighbor
doesn't do that. That was an isolated incident, and now we are back to small
talks about plants and stray dogs, which I appreciate.
I also have great news to share about
my upcoming book, Atlas. This is the weirdest one I have so far. It's lighter
(but it still has dark scenes and mature themes), and it's in a different style
than my other books. I had some reservations at first, but I have gotten great
feedback so far. Maybe it's your cup of tea.
I always consult my mom every time I
set up my publishing dates. She has this knack of finding good dates, according
to her belief. However, because of time zone differences, Amazon always screwed
them up (I swear I stayed up until our date aligned, but it was still wrong).
So, I'm setting up my pre-order date, it's a foolproof way to get the right
one.
ATLAS is out on 15 June 2026
Anyway, other books!
There are many books here. Every image and link lead to a collection of books. I hope you find something you like.
