“If you fall behind, run faster. Never give up, never surrender and rise up against the odds.” – Jesse Jackson

It is only 16 minutes left before Thursday, June 25 makes its way to this year’s calendar. I got up from the mat where I had lain since 22:30, dragging my legs onto the nearby sofa. Happy, Mango, Buffalo all woke up and joined me onto my writing corner. Today, the bamboo bath mat seemed thicker than usual, but I had managed to place it on the floor anyway, rolling it open for my puppies and me to spend the rest of our night on.

Now, I am sitting writing on my desk. Happy, Mango and Buffalo were quickly back to their sleep. Happy’s back lies against my right thigh. Mango puts her head on my left foot while the rest of her body rests on my right leg – an effective way to send my legs to sleeping mode. Down on the mat, her mom Buffalo was lying with all her legs up, enjoying the air from the water fan and the air conditioner. I wasn’t  aware when she jumped off the sofa via the bean bag, which I had placed along the sofa as a stair for my puppies to climb on and off by themselves.

This evening, all I wanted to do, after finishing a shortened online session with my student, was to call it an early night. I couldn’t drink up a glass of iced rice milk, made by a machine while I was in the class, and put the leftover into the fridge. I didn’t plan to fast today; I just didn’t have enough energy to step into the kitchen and be my chef. I fed my stomach with three servings of herbal agar jelly delivered before noon.

I thought sleep would find me as soon as I placed my back on the mat. But it seemed to have wandered somewhere tonight.

Since I woke up this morning, I chose to let my day run its own course though at some points, I was able to put some daily routines back on track.

Life always has its ways to disclose my true persistence. The monthly “red-light” thing comes early as a true test to it. It has never treated me gently since the first day it became a part of my life when I turned 13. Pain killers have been my friends ever since until my pharmacist cousin suggested me taking Cataflam or Dolfenal. My drawer has never run out of their stocks.

Today, the cramps have hit me and tired me out soon after I washed my face, brushed my teeth and flossed them. They haven’t given me any chance to bounce back. Though I took one Dolfenal, I couldn’t function well enough to head back to the hotel’s riverside cafe for the third day of focused writing. My streak got broken just after two days.

I must get up anyway as I just couldn’t give up on the 17^th day of my daily writing efforts. Just four more days from the second milestone of writing daily over 21 days. I must stay committed to what I had told myself before starting the writing challenge.

“Lavender! Please keep going despite how tough your today and the days ahead have been or might become. Keep going and you will see the sunlight down the road. I believe in you and I trust that you also believed in yourself. I understand how weary you have been due to the menstruation. Give yourself some decent rest and tomorrow you will feel better. It would just stay for less than a week. Embrace its arrival as this won’t last forever.  
Stay resilient and love yourself as much as you can. You have bounced back great so far this June. Keep the light on and keep moving forward. I know life has been tough to you for the last two years, but you have survived. It’s time to thrive on what you have learned. Writing is what you love the most. Don’t let your writing back to its sleeping mode any longer. Keep it up with you. Let those like you read what you write. Let them connect to your stories.

You remember what you said to me? You said you love to write through the final day of yours on this earth, because it is what makes you happy, because it makes you feel close with your dad, because it calms you down whenever your mood swings. Keep walking through the valley and someday you will lift yourself up from it. Don’t give up on your efforts, Lavender! Sustain them with all your strength and make them strong as you move forward.

It is 12:59 now. You see, you finally made it through the 17^th day of your own challenge. Rest up when you feel exhausted. Then, keep going!”

I couldn’t believe I have written over 800 words on the day I thought I might see my newly-built writing routine come to an end because of the “red” period. I will make it through the 18^th day, anyway!

“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” – Henry Ford

Lavender Papaya

[17. Wednesday, June 24, 2026]