“How Are You Feeling Today?”
Familiar faces passed me by, some wore smiles, others wore frowns. It was never anything personal, and perhaps it never was meant to be. The ones we love don’t always love us back in the way we wish. But maybe love isn’t always about reciprocation. Maybe, for some of us, it’s just in our nature to love without expecting anything in return.
Isn’t it strange, though? I meet the people I love every single day. There’s no need for small talk, no awkward pauses, we just are. Comfortable. Unfiltered. Effortless. But in that ease, I wonder: are we missing something? Or have we simply stopped noticing?
“How are you?” she asked me today. Three simple words, yet they struck me unexpectedly. It had been a while since someone asked me that. Such a basic, gentle question, so often brushed off as routine. But today, it landed with weight.
I thought of Vappa, how he returns home every evening, exhausted from work. I’ve never once paused to ask how he’s truly doing. And Umma, our quiet warrior. The one who holds our home together with unwavering strength. She runs the kitchen like clockwork, keeps my brother’s studies on track, tends to vappa, and still somehow manages to hold space for us all. But have I ever asked how she feels?
Maybe I took it all for granted. Maybe we all do.
There’s so much unspoken love tucked inside a sincere “how are you?” a kind of tenderness we overlook in the noise of our everyday routines. And perhaps, going forward, that’s where I’ll begin: with a question, a moment, a heartbeat of presence. Because love doesn’t always need to be loud. Sometimes, it’s as quiet—and as powerful—as simply asking.
“How are you feeling today?”