2 Minute Worlds

He came home from work and found a note taped to the TV. The TV looked guilty, like it had been whispering secrets to the sofa all day. The note had his wife’s handwriting, neat but sharp, like someone cutting vegetables with a smile.

“I’ve taken the kids to my mother’s. Don’t make the house into a junkyard again. Last time even the ceiling smelled of fried chicken and something unholy.

Cook your own meals or eat outside, but don’t feed random strangers here. The last time I lifted the sofa, I found four pizza bills, two cigarette butts, and one sock that didn’t belong to us.

Your glasses belong on the dressing table. Not the fridge. Not the laundry basket. Not inside the washing machine where they make the shirts dizzy.

The maid has been paid. Don’t make her feel like she owes you her life.

And please stop waking the neighbor at 6 a.m. to ask about her newspaper. Our newspaper is not her newspaper. Our milkman is not her milkman. Unless you’ve decided to secretly swap lives with her husband, in which case, we should talk.

Your vests are in the lower shelves of the cupboard, the kids’ clothes are in the upper ones. Wear your own this time. It’s hard enough for them to grow up without competing against their father for T-shirts with cartoon dinosaurs.

Your medical reports are normal. So stop visiting that lady doctor. She has other patients, and I have suspicions.

My sister’s and sister-in-law’s birthdays are long gone. If you call them at night to ‘wish,’ don’t expect me to believe it’s innocent.

I’ve changed the Wi-Fi password. Go to bed early. Dream about me. Or about anyone else, but keep it quiet.

Don’t get too excited. Don’t think freedom is contagious. My friends are at their mothers’ too, which means the entire city is full of men like you—lonely, proud, pretending they aren’t.

Stay away from the neighbor’s house. Sugar, tea, coffee, kindness—whatever excuse you invent—I’ve already stocked it. And that woman doesn’t deserve your knock on her door.

And the most important thing: don’t play smart. I can come back at any time. Maybe I’m already behind you. Maybe the TV told me everything.”