Ma Privé

-

Have you ever wondered
why someone longs for privacy
within a life that already looks private?

It isn’t about distance.
It isn’t about being alone.
It’s quieter than that.
Deeper.

It’s the search for a self
that slowly slipped away—
somewhere between responsibilities,
expectations,
and days that began to look the same.
It’s about remembering
who you were
before you became
who everyone needed you to be.

Holding on
to fragments of memories,
small, glowing pieces
that once felt like you,
now fading at the edges.
Because routine… doesn’t ask.
It takes.
Gently at first,
then completely.
Boundaries blur.

What was once done with love
becomes obligation.
A role.
A rhythm.
A responsibility
performed without pause, 
without question.
Without acknowledgment.

They call it duty.
But rarely do they see
the person behind it.
Especially the ones
who have always given.

The ones who were taught
that giving is love,
and receiving is optional.
The ones who stayed,
adjusted,
absorbed,
until even their silence
became expected.

Taken for granted
so consistently,
it starts to feel like fate.
And somewhere along the way,
physical exhaustion
quietly transforms
into something heavier,
something unseen.

Mental weight.
Unspoken strain.
Yet, they continue.

Through difficult seasons,
through invisible battles,
through days where comfort
feels like a forgotten language.
Because they’ve adapted.
Because they’ve endured.
Because they’ve been told,
this is how it is.

And maybe…
Privacy is not escape.
Maybe it is return.
A return to self.
To stillness.

To a space where nothing is demanded,
and everything simply exists.
Where you are not a role.
Not a function.
Not an expectation.
Just… YOU!
________________________________________

Author's Note:

This piece reflects the life of a daughter-in-law, the often sole functioning woman of a household, expected to keep giving, keep enduring, and keep showing up, no matter what. In fulfilling every role for others, she is left with little room for herself. 
Privacy, then, becomes not a basic need, but a distant luxury.

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