Multiplicity

"Are you OK?" asked my friend on the way to work one day.

I grunted an affirmative, not particularly in the mood to do anything more taxing.

"Really?" she asked, not entirely convinced.

The trouble with being me is me itself. Just like a story, there are different sides to people. I am no different, and there are times when I feel like showing a side of me that I may never have shown before.

I am sure you know what I am talking about. There are times when you just don't feel like doing or saying things. The point is not about what you're saying or doing, but what you're feeling.

You feel fine. There is nothing wrong.

And yet, because you are not saying much, because your body language may read otherwise, people ask of you things like how you are. Nothing wrong with that, of course. It shows concern, empathy, support.

So what do you do? You won't get people to stop asking you how you are, nor will you stop doing it yourself. I suppose it is enough to understand that there are many sides to a single person, and none dominates over the other. Just because it gets more 'airtime' doesn't make it any more real.

The sum may be greater than the parts, but it is still made up of the parts. And there are more than just a few.

"Yeah," I said, turning my head around. "Really."