To The Moon

We met up today. ☕

Across the table, I didn’t see a “job seeker” or a statistic. I saw my old friend — the girl who was beautiful and slim during our JC days, when many guys tried to woo her.

But today, I could see the quiet weight of the past three years in her eyes. Her boyfriend had broken up with her. She had gained a lot of weight. The degree she once worked so hard for now felt less like a sail pushing her forward, and more like an anchor weighing her down. I could also see the physical toll of a heart that has been trying to protect itself by staying still.

It’s easy for the world to say, “Just get up.”

It’s easy for a father to say, “Just go and work.”

It’s easy for a doctor to say, “Just be healthier — go to the gym, eat less.”

But when you’re sitting across from someone who has forgotten how to believe in themselves, you realize something important: the first step isn’t a job application. It’s rediscovering a sense of self-worth.

I didn’t ask her about finding a job. I didn’t want to dig deeper into wounds that are already hurting.

Her father has been adding pressure on her — pushing her to attend medical appointments for obesity and to see a psychiatrist. Maybe he means well, but sometimes pressure just makes the darkness heavier.

She thinks she has already “given up.”

But I think she has just been walking through a very long tunnel, and somewhere along the way, she forgot what sunlight feels like.

Today wasn’t about the three-year gap. It was about finding the bridge back.

After dinner, I sent her a simple text: “Take care.”

She didn’t reply.

And honestly, I don’t even know what the right words are to comfort someone like that. Falling into depression is not easy to climb out from.

Maybe sometimes being a friend simply means holding the light while they slowly find their footing again — one coffee, one conversation, one quiet reminder that “I’m glad you’re here.”

Truthfully, I don’t know how to counsel someone properly.

But maybe sometimes, just being there is already enough. ☕