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Gladwin Emmanuel's avatar

Unable to reach this site: Co-Author Substack ID: Christina Tsermentseli

Sirens on the Rocks's avatar

Thank you, Hasif, for inviting me to be part of this!

What made this such a special experience was that I wrote my piece without having the slightest idea what you were going to write. Reading the published essay for the first time felt strangely surreal, as though two people had been wandering through the same emotional landscape from opposite directions and somehow met in the middle.

Writing can be such a solitary thing, so creating something “together” like this was a real pleasure. Thank you for trusting me with a place in your publication. I genuinely enjoyed every part of it.

Xiaobian Poet's avatar

Objects do more than preserve who we were. They also keep the futures those former selves expected to reach—the friendship that was meant to last, the happiness that seemed repeatable, the life still waiting beyond a train ticket.

Perhaps that is why letting go can feel less like discarding evidence and more like disappointing someone we used to be. I love where this piece arrives: the object can leave without making that earlier self foolish, or her life unreal. We become the archive not only of what happened, but of everything we once believed could happen next.

Sirens on the Rocks's avatar

I absolutely love this perspective! You’ve added a whole new dimension to the conversation, and I’m so grateful you shared it.

This is what I love about writing , once a piece is out in the world, readers bring their own experiences and meanings to it. Thank you for such a thoughtful reflection. 🥰

Christina

Xiaobian Poet's avatar

Thank you, Christina. I love that too—the moment a piece leaves the writer, it begins living in places the writer could never have planned for. Your essay gave me the objects and memories; I simply found another future folded inside them. I’m so glad that reading felt welcome here. 🤍

Sirens on the Rocks's avatar

That’s beautifully said. I’m so glad you found it there.✨

DigitalSpoon360's avatar

Beautifully written !

Whether ; It's the emotions of conviction or the suddle ness manipulation , it's the

power word on paper !

You, the Authors of this amazing write, have done a fantastic work on this manuscript in the way you have brought out the truths of Emotional Attachment of Human Nature is prevalent in our lives today.

Thank you for, just

being ; "YOU "

Sirens on the Rocks's avatar

Thank you so much for your beautiful words!

It means a lot to know that the piece connected with you and that you felt the emotions behind it.

Writing is such a personal journey, and when something we put on paper finds its way into someone else’s thoughts and feelings, that is the greatest reward.

Thank you for taking the time to read, reflect, and share such kindness with us 🥰

Paranshi Soni 🌀's avatar

This is so beautifully written almost like every word in the essay was tangible. I guess we cling so hard onto certain versions of ourselves that only existed during a certain point in time because there’s a painful, bittersweet nostalgia to it. You and the co author have captured that niche feeling of reminiscence so well. 🤍

Sirens on the Rocks's avatar

Thank you so much for this beautiful comment!

I love how you described those versions of ourselves that only existed for a certain moment in time. Maybe that’s why some objects are so hard to let go of, they don’t just remind us of what happened, they remind us of who we were when it happened.

It’s such a strange thing about memory: a simple object can suddenly open a whole world that we thought was gone. I’m so happy the essay connected with you, and thank you for reading it so thoughtfully. 🥰

Christina

Pella Tsermentseli's avatar

Great read, congrats to you both for revealing the deeper significance of something universally human and articulate profoundly what we have all feel but rarely understand..!

Sirens on the Rocks's avatar

Thank you so much. That means a great deal. I think we’ve all had those moments where an ordinary object suddenly feels impossible to part with, and it’s comforting to know the essay resonated beyond our own experiences. ❤️

Sanaa Khatib's avatar

An amusing read Hasif, loved reading this!

Everyday Epiphanies's avatar

Such an amazing write, and a take way from this article I had is ... How we keep on looking to the "old we" when life wants us to embrace the "new us" which is why it's been said live in the present. Because once the present becomes past it can't be same. Embracing your new identities isn't failure it's a win that you made some space for yourself to out grow of your former selfs.

An exquisite read . Honestly:)

hasif 💌's avatar

Thank you so much for reading it so thoughtfully. ❤️ I really love the way you interpreted it. I think that’s what I was trying to come to terms with while writing that sometimes we aren’t holding on to the object at all, we’re holding on to a former version of ourselves.