Dear Friend,

I hope this digital letter finds you well. And I hope 2026 is treating you alright!

I have been on the journey of self-discovery in the recent years though I’ve been quite reflective ever since the time of the snake-incident –

Our parents had taken my brother and I to the beach and bought us a high-end paper snake puppet each (40 rupees more than its basic model which cost 10 rupees). All four of us were on the bike on our way back home – parents, brother and I. I was sitting between my mother and dad, holding on to my dad like he was my big teddy-bear; my baby brother was securely held on to my mother’s lap. My brother was holding his snake puppet in the air trying to give it a flying experience as my dad rode the bike steadily like a soldier with a huge responsibility of 3 on his shoulders. Me on the other hand, got quite restless as miles went by. I strongly sensed that snake puppets were POSSESSED. My brother was waving it into my eyes from behind in his air gliding adventure. Every time it swept past me, I looked into the serpent’s eyes with an exorcist’s determination. The more I meditated, the more I could see the imminent danger getting closer and closer. Something had to be done. No one seems to sense the evil like I did. So, it had to be me. I got into action – I freed my hands from the imaginary handcuffs around the daddy-bear, threw them behind me in a stealth motion like a seasoned fighter, grabbed the demon in flesh (I mean paper) from my brother’s hands and with one jerk yanked it off him and threw it down the road.

Oh, the sense of relief! What a proud moment it was – I patted myself for defeating the enemy and saving my family. I was even more impressed with myself as I realised I could be faster than my mama-bear’s insane response time. (Made a mental note to reuse this new found skill of mine, the next time she pulled out the cane to spank.)

I was wallowing in my recent accomplishments with a sense of calm and unconcealable smile, as my dad’s bike raced past the fallen demon. All was well until… my brother released a siren call that even dad’s bike’s horn couldn’t match. On further inquiry, fingers that were to join together to applaud started pointing at me. Imagine the disappointment – A hero made villain in a jiffy by public sentiments and a baby’s unearthly shrill.

I am to be partly blamed because I held back some relevant information that might have exonerated me. I was ashamed to say that I sensed the evil in the paper and I did what I did to protect my family.

Why? Because moments between the pleasant wallowing and the interrogation, my conscience kicked in and asked the question that needed to be asked – if paper snakes are possessed, why did you throw away your brother’s but held on to yours? Isn’t yours danger to the family too?

I had one answer – I am guilty.

As a 5 year old my conscience was not developed enough to categorise the motive but I just knew I had done something wrong.

I keep going back to this one incident that happened 30 years ago every now and then. Do I know the answer now better than before? Not really!

But this incident keeps me grounded, tells me I am human and if I don’t keep my motives in check, I would be a hero only to become a villain in my own eyes. What a reminder!

What is the one thing you did that you keep reflecting back on? Would love to hear your story.

Intentionally,

Linda (Human)

P.S. With AI advances, every conversation is becoming more and more scripted, edited and reshaped. I miss the good old days when humans displayed raw but real emotions and expressed without fear. This is my miniscule attempt to relive and possibly revive those days. These letters are written by a human named Linda Shiny (that’s me :D) and reviewed by humans (if at all reviewed). I hope that one day this turns out to be a movement – when every human would take (baby) steps to be intentionally humans. So, write back to me your raw story in the comment section. Can’t wait! ❤️