Okay so imagine this: you are minding your own business, living the dream, sipping your metaphorical iced coffee of life, when suddenly your chaotic childhood friend who just kicked down your door last week transforms into a detective slash private eye with zero training but maximum attitude. The reason? You were talking to another girl. Yes, a girl. Calm down, this is not the setup for a soap opera. It is the beginning of an all out emotional rollercoaster that nobody signed up for but everyone secretly wanted front row seats to. Spoiler alert: the popcorn is mandatory.
Now before we jump into the emotional dumpster fire that is about to unfold let us set the stage properly because without context this could look suspiciously like your typical bad romcom scene. But here is the twist. The girl I was talking to was my cousin. Yes, that cousin who thinks she is part ninja but is mostly just really good at showing up unannounced and eating your snacks. Also possibly my only ally when it comes to surviving chaotic childhood friend attacks.
So the scene opens on a perfectly normal Tuesday that somehow escalates into a psychological thriller with comedic undertones because life loves to mess with me that way. I am standing outside the local community center which might as well be a secret lair for weirdos and fitness fanatics. And there she is, my cousin Aya, looking like she just stepped out of a workout ad with determination in her eyes and a water bottle in hand like she owns the place.
I spot her and wave because family first even when they steal your favorite hoodie without asking. We start chatting about mundane stuff like who is winning at the latest video game (spoiler: not me) and how the weather is still undecided on whether to be sunny or rainy. Normal stuff. Then chaos goblin shows up. Cue the dramatic music.
She rounds the corner and spots us laughing and talking. Her face does this weird twitch thing that I later learn means she is about to enter full on denial mode. Her eyes narrow and her jaw tightens like she just smelled something rotten but also personally offensive.
She marches up to us with the grace of a bull in a china shop. I mean this is the kind of approach that would make a cat hide under the couch and question its life choices. She stands there, arms crossed which is basically her way of saying hands off the cousin she probably does not even like but will claim as her territory anyway.
"Hey," she says, her voice trying to sound casual but failing miserably. "Who is this?"
I blink, trying to keep my cool. "This is Aya, my cousin," I say, pointing at her because apparently we need name tags now.
She stares at Aya like Aya is a secret agent sent to steal me away. Her nostrils flare just a bit which is the first sign that jealousy is beginning its slow and painful takeover of her brain.
"Oh," she says like she is testing the waters. "Your cousin, huh? That is interesting."
"Yeah," I say, feeling the pressure but trying to act like this is just a friendly neighborhood visit. "What is up with you?"
She shrugs like she is trying to play it cool but her eyes keep darting between me and Aya like she is conducting a covert investigation. I swear at one point she even whispers to herself, "Do not trust the cousin, do not trust the cousin," which I am pretty sure is not in the official detective handbook but hey, each to their own.
Suddenly she declares, "You are mine."
I nearly choke on my own breath because what does that even mean? She sees the confusion and doubles down. "You belong to me. No one else."
At this point I am convinced we are in the middle of a bad romance novel but hey, life does not care about my feelings, it only cares about delivering drama.
Aya raises an eyebrow like she is trying to decide if she should challenge the chaos goblin to a duel or just leave quietly and live to eat another stolen snack.
I try to defuse the situation by cracking a joke. "You know I have a cousin, right?"
That earns me a glare so intense it could melt steel.
"Okay, okay," I say, hands up in surrender. "I get it. Jealousy is a disease and you have it."
She puffs her cheeks like a disgruntled squirrel and storms off muttering something about keeping an eye on me because apparently I am public property now.
Aya and I exchange a look that says Are you serious? and then burst out laughing because sometimes chaos is just comedy in disguise.
Later that night I am lying on my bed staring at the ceiling and wondering if I should have just invested in some ninja skills myself. Or maybe just learned how to run faster.
Because here is the thing: jealousy is a powerful emotion. It makes you do weird things like claim ownership over people like they are limited edition collectibles. It makes your heart race and your brain go in circles like a hamster stuck on a wheel.
But it also makes you realize that beneath the fiery tantrums and denial there is something deeper. Something that does not have words yet but feels like it might one day.
I close my eyes and see her face. The wild messy hair, the intense gaze, the unfiltered laugh that somehow manages to light up the darkest rooms.
Maybe she is not just a tornado of chaos after all. Maybe she is the storm that shakes me awake. The storm I did not know I needed.
The next day I see her again. This time she tries to play it cool like nothing happened but I can see the tension in her smile. The way she tries to act normal but her eyes are watching every move I make.
I want to tell her that I get it. That I am confused too. That I do not know what this means but I am willing to find out.
But instead I just smile and say, "Hey detective, want to grab some coffee?"
She narrows her eyes like she is calculating whether this is a trap or a peace offering.
Then she nods.
And for once I think we might actually survive this chaos together.