In twenty-two-year-old Ruth’s troubled mind, no one could ever understand how much she despises the unstoppable flow of time. Through the years, it refuses to wait, even when she finds herself grappling with the exhausting combination of her post-college limbo and multiple side hustles.
Finally taking a rare break over the holidays, Ruth’s dark brown eyes linger over the brightly lit screen of her phone. The remaining two hours before the new year unknowingly intensify her tugging desire to keep up with everyone else’s polished lifestyles. Bit by bit, the year-in-review reels from the users she follows slowly dig into her self-doubt, making her question if she’s falling behind.
Social media became the perfect avenue to temporarily quench her yearning for a better life. Every idealized post or extravagant image seeped into her mind, making her daydream about success as if she were a part of the algorithm itself, riding the waves of viral trends.
Once all the twelve grapes were consumed, and even though there were no fairies, genies, or magical transformations, Ruth simply felt the heavy weight on her heart lighten—a silent promise that things were finally going to get better.
Caught off guard, Ruth forces a quick smile. “Come on, Pa. It’ll be fun—just getting all those unspoken thoughts out in the open.”
“I just don’t think it’s a good idea to mention the past. You wouldn’t want to go back to those trying times, right?” her father softly replies.
“Your Papa’s right, sweetheart. This might change things for the worse… You know people would take advantage of—”
“Well, maybe they’ll see me as someone inspiring, you know?” Ruth cuts her mother off.
A sharp silence pierces the room.
* Images enhanced using AI filters
* All characters and events in this work are fictional. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, or actual entities is unintentional and coincidental.