Three months ago, this man, this ghost we thought had been dead for, like, twenty years... just showed up. Knocked on my mom’s door like it was no big deal.

And let me paint the picture for you: scruffy gray beard, hollow cheeks, dragging this busted, seen-too-much-shit leather suitcase like it owed him rent. My older sister Laura opened the door. She almost passed out. Legit. I thought she was gonna throw up or deck him or both.

To really get it, you gotta go back.

Mom always said our dad was a hero. A journalist locked up overseas for speaking out against some messed-up regime. Fighting for truth, freedom of the press, all that. Then, a few years later, came the news: he died in prison from untreated pneumonia. No funeral. Just a tragedy and a handful of ashes we never saw

The End. Period. That was the version we grew up with.The only one we knew.The only one we believed.

Laura? hated him. Even with the martyr story, she never forgave him for leaving. She always said: Doesn’t matter how noble the excuse,, gone is still gone.

So when she saw him standing there, all she said and voice shaking with fury, not surprise, was: You don’t get to be here.

My brother Michael? Different vibe. He’s quiet. Always thinking, always feeling more than he lets on. He stared at Dad for what felt like forever, like he was trying to figure out if this was real life or a dream. Then just asked: How’d you get out of prison? And… why now?"

Me? I didn’t even know what I felt. It wasn’t hate. Wasn’t joy either. It was like the ground disappeared under my feet. I’d built this whole version of him in my head. This myth. This tragic hero. And standing there was just… a tired old man.

For weeks, he was like a ghost floating around the edges of our lives.

Mom? Not having it. She shut that door on any second chances. SWouldn’t dig up that past she'd already buried.

So guess who took him in?

Aunt freaking Bertha. 

She said the poor guy had nowhere else to go. So, she gave him a dusty little room in the back of her house. He didn’t argue. Just nodded.

And then, one day, his body just… gave up.

The hospital ran a ton of tests. Nothing made sense. His immune system was shutting down but there was no infection, no cancer, like something inside him was rotting...

Aunt Bertha was crushed. Said he wasn’t eating. Barely slept. Claimed it was stress, guilt, all those years of hiding catching up with him. Dad kept saying his mouth felt gross. Headaches that wouldnt quit. Like something was rotting him from the inside.

Then, right before he died, he asked to see us. All of us.Not for love.Not for forgiveness, nope. Just… truth or to drop a bomb and peace out.

He could barely speak, but he was stubborn. Wouldn’t rest till he got it out.

Dad: I was in prison but Not for long, yeah, I was involved in politics. But they let me go after a few months. I didn’t come back because…(he looked at us. All three of us) because I found out you weren’t my biological kids.

Silence. My brain? Cracked

He went on."Your mom wrote me a letter while I was locked up. Said she loved me. But she’d lied. She told me the truth in that letter."

"I felt like everything in my life was fake. So I disappeared. I faked my death. Hid."

He didn’t cry. He just talked. Like he’d been carrying this weight so long and now he was finally allowed to put it down.

And we just… stood there. Statues. Broken. No one said a damn word.

-§-

Edit: Update**** I think it is too long for sharing in a post (just adding another part)

After he died, things got weird. Not at first.

Aunt Bertha called me two days after the funeral. Said she couldnt stay in the house. Said the room where he slept felt wrong and heavy. She swore she kept hearin something scratching inside the closet at night. But when she checked, nothing. Just dust and his old suitcase, still zipped up, still sitting where he left it

That thing freaked me out. Idk why. It was just a damn suitcase. But every time I looked at it, I felt like it was looking back.

Michael opened it. That’s his thing. So he did.

There wasnt much inside. A couple of shirts, a half-used bar of soap wrapped in paper (ew), some faded photos of people we didnt recognize. And this notebook. Leather-bound. No title. Just stuffed with pages of cramped handwriting.

We took it home. Dumb idea.

The first few pages were what you'd expect. Random notes. Political crap. Names. Numbers. But then the tone shifted. Got paranoid. Obsessive. He started writing like someone was watching him. Following him. There were pages scratched out so hard the paper tore.

There was an another note, dated just a few days before he died. One of the last things he wrote:

'That night I couldnt sleep. My mouth tasted weird. Bitter. Metallic. Like I’d been chewing on aluminum foil"

Laura wanted to burn it. Straight up tossed it in the sink and lit a match. But the damn thing wouldn’t catch. It blackened around the edges but never really burned.

The next day I went to see Mom. She looked worse than I’ve ever seen her. Like she’d aged ten years in a week.

She didnt even say hi, just stared out the window

Eventually, I got the nerve to ask her about the letter, okay, the one she sent Dad when he was in prison. The one that made him disappear.I told her I wanted the Truth. About everything and about him and about us.

About who our father really was

Or if he was even the only one

She didnt speak. Just turned her head slowly and gave me this look cold and scared at the same time. Like she wanted to tell me, but her mouth wouldnt let her.And then she said: What the hell are you talking about? Are you high again?

And She walked away.

That night, Laura called hysterical. Said she found Michael in the bathtub. Not dead. Not bleeding. Just sitting there, fully clothed, muttering to himself...over and over:

“He wasn’t supposed to come back. He wasn’t supposed to come back”

We checked him into a clinic the next day. He hasn’t said a word since.

Now it’s just me. Me and this notebook I cannot seem to throw away.

Well, Sometimes I think I see him. My dad. In reflections. In places he shouldn be.

Like he never left.

Like he’s still watching us

So, I went to Aunt Bertha’s place to ask her about it all. I needed answers. She let me in but there was something… off about her. Her eyes were too wide, like she hadn slept; her hands shook when she poured me a drink. She kept glancing over her shoulder, as someone might walk in.

I asked her about the suitcase. She didn answer right away. Then after a long silence, she finally spoke so soft I almost didn hear it:

“I loved him”

WHAT??

You ever wonder what mercury actually does to the body?

P.S. I Wanna See the Autopsy Report. Urgent!

I was dating one of my employees for around a month. She’s bi and was still technically married to a woman. Out of nowhere she broke up with me and told me that I gave her chlamydia. I later found out that she got back together with her wife, and the chlamydia came from her.

So last night I went out for a beer with a friend. My ex happened to come to the same bar with her wife. Just to stir the pot, my female friend walks up to my ex and her wife and says “thanks for giving my boyfriend chlamydia”. (We aren’t dating, she just wanted to say something). My ex immediately gets up and grabs her by the hair and starts punching her. I jump in to try and stop it. My friend runs away, so I’m by myself getting punched by both my ex and her wife. I didn’t know what to do, so I threw my ex over a meat smoker so I could try and control the wrists of her wife. A guy came over to break it up and said “I used to be a cop”. So I just said “good, make them stop trying to beat my ass” then we left and got another drink at a different bar.

I had to share this story somewhere, so thanks for reading. If you ask me how many short lesbians I could take in a fight, the answer is more than two🤘🏽 have a good day lol

On the day before I started kindergarten, I went to my baby-sitter Cindy's house for the last time. Her husband was constructing an in-the-ground pool in their backyard, and it was halfway done.

When my mom picked me up, I said goodbye to Cindy for the last time, and she said, "you should come swim in the pool someday." I thought she said "Sunday," so I yelled out "Sunday?!?"

Cindy and my mom laughed.

...and that's the day I learned that "Sunday" means Sunday, but "Someday" means never...

My father was a gambling man. Every weekend, he would drive out to Reno and take me with him.
Even in my earliest memories as a child, I could remember the sound of slot machines and excited cheers. I could smell the cigarettes and musty carpets in the motel hallway.

Despite that, he was a good father. I never went hungry or cold. He was kind and loving, with advice and teachings I still carry to this day. As time passed, his career became a serious motivation for him and he moved away from casinos. However, his vice never quite left him; he slowly began buying lottery tickets every Friday while coming home from work. Once, when I was 11, he had joked about how he would be Charlie with the golden ticket; how he would retire at 35 and relax for the rest of his life.

He got his wish 13 years later.

It happened on a warm summer night. I remember seeing him change with every number that flashed from the television. He chuckled at the first number, like it was an old joke heard a hundred times before. A more cautious cheer went up with the second.

With the third and fourth, he became silent. His head moved like a broken robot, going from the TV back to the ticket over and over. On the fifth number, he started to shake. He began to sweat like he had run a marathon despite not having moved for the past hour. His breath came in short, uneven gasps as he rolled off the couch and collapsed.

"Oh God, Dad! Dad?"

I screamed as I ran to his side, trying to pull my phone out. It fell, clattering to the floor before I could pick it back up with shaking hands. As I called 911 and talked to the dispatcher on speaker, I leaned over my father's chest to begin compressions. I can still feel the moment his sternum cracked.

The paramedics came 6 minutes after I called 911. They could not save my father, even with 5 defibrillator shocks. After a statement to an apologetic officer, the entourage dispersed. The police went back to patrolling the streets, while the ambulance took my father away. I slowly went back inside my home, numb. It felt like I was watching myself walk.

I don't remember picking up the ticket later that night. I only remember staring at it in the silence of the living room. This small piece of paper had been my father's dream. Now, he was gone.

I was 10 years old at the time and I went out with my friends. My father warned me that at eight o'clock in the evening we were leaving for my grandmother's house. Don't be late, the car will leave the house at 8:00 sharp.

I was playing with the boys as usual. In summer it's not the latest time for a walk, especially in a big and friendly group. I saw that there were five minutes left and walked towards home. Our house was on a rather long street. At 19:58 I already saw my house, the car and my father, mother and my brother getting into it. I was walking towards it, thinking that everything was OK, now they would wait for me and we would go.

I had just a few minutes to go, but at exactly 20:00 the car started and drove off. I first thought it was a joke and that they would stop and wait for me. But what was my surprise when the car only picked up speed and then disappeared around the corner. I got home, still thinking it was a joke and they were coming back.

But I sat on the porch until 11:30.

When they came back, I asked my father in tears why he had done that.

He said: "We agreed that the car would leave the house at 20:00. You were late.

Maybe it was harsh, but since then I don't remember being late for anything. An experience I'll remember for the rest of my life. Did your parents have any unconventional parenting techniques?

My coworker recently went through a breakup and has been feeling pretty low, so last night I went out with him to the bars to be his wingman. Basically, my job was just to chat with the friends of any girl he was interested in. Nothing more. I’m engaged, and my fiancée was fine with it as long as I kept my location on and stayed responsive to texts. Toward the end of the night, just as we were about to leave, two girls approached us. Each clearly targeting one of us. We started chatting, and the girl talking to my friend seemed super into him. She was wearing a cowboy hat and ended up giving it to him, which was funny.

The girl I was talking to was really nice, but from the way she spoke it was almost like she was using a customer service voice. It felt like she was just being polite. What was odd, though, was that every time I tried to step away (since my friend seemed to be holding his own), she kept pulling me back into the conversation.

Then I had a thought. What if she was also wingmanning for her friend and was worried that if I bailed, my buddy would follow. So finally, I just asked, “Are you wingmanning tonight?” She seemed surprised and said, “What?” Then I just said, “I’m wingmanning for my friend. I’m actually engaged.” Her face lit up and, for the first time all night, she genuinely laughed and said, “Oh my god, yes! I’m married!”

After that, the conversation totally shifted. She relaxed, dropped the polite tone, and we ended up having a great chat with a lot in common. We shared the same birthday, were the same age, and a few other things. Unfortunately, my friend didn’t get much further with the girl as his anxiety and self-doubt kinda held him back, but I could tell he enjoyed the interaction and maybe walked away with a little more confidence. Plus, he got a free cowboy hat out of it.

Not the wildest story, but it ended up being a pretty funny and wholesome night.

So, around 10+ years ago, I was newly single and decided "f*** it, I'll just do whatever."

I had a friend, who, while he wasn't the most attractive dude ever, had tons of money and his charisma was off the charts. He was punching way above his league in terms of the girls he was hooking up with and dating.

He suggested we try a mmf threesome (something he was itching to do to), and I decided to go for it. This was back in the day when OkCupid was a decent dating app, and we knew it was just a numbers game. Message 100 girls, get a few responses, eventually find someone interested. So that's what we did. We created a joint OkCupid profile, and while hanging out over the course of a week (he lived very close), we must have messaged about 500 women with the same copy and pasted message.

Finally we found someone interested in meeting up for it. Decent looking girl, but not someone I'd approach on my own to try to get laid. We met up, and she was extremely boring. Between me and my friend trying to be charming and chatty, she was literally giving it a 0/10 on the conversation scale. Fine - it's really just about the sex so who cares.

We made boring small talk for 30-45 minutes over some drinks and took a cab to his place. So that was gonna be it. I sat on her right side, he on her left, and we started taking turns making out with her.

About 2-3 minutes into this, as I'm taking my turn making out with this girl, i turn to see my friend with his dick out, fully, erect, starting to jerk off.

NOPE.

That was where any desire to try this out left my mind. First, it was the fact that the girl was so... mechanical about it. Nothing in her behavior said she actually wanted to do it. Then, my friend's behavior matched that attitude. I don't consider myself homophobic, but the speed at which my friend's dick was out was also a mood killer.

So I excused myself and said I needed a drink, then said I wasn't really into it and was gonna go home. I suggested the girl stay and they have fun fucking, but she said no and she was going home too, which was a bummer for my friend.

So that's my failed mmf threesome story.

P.S. what's really funny is that he and another friend of ours ended up doing this with a different random girl from OkCupid... and then a few months later the local newspaper ran an article about her being "the coolest girl to date off OkCupid" lol.

I don’t really talk about this much, but it’s been on my mind all week. The last time I saw my brother, we didn’t even say goodbye. We got into a stupid argument over something small—I don’t even remember what now. He walked out the door angry, and I just let him. A few days later, he was gone. Car accident. Just like that.

Sometimes I wonder, if I had just said sorry first, would things feel different now? Have any of you had someone leave like that, without closure? How do you deal with that kind of weight when it just stays with you?

The title is as chilling as the experience itself was for me. I was 19, reckless, and naïve about the dangers of meeting strangers online—especially someone living 1,000 kilometers away. Stick around, there’s a plot twist.

At the time, I was 19, navigating high school reasonably well but yearning for excitement and adrenaline. I was a straight-A student with a modest following on Instagram, no real friends to hang out with, and a life consumed by schoolwork and rhythmic gymnastics. Deep down, I despised the monotony. I wanted to break free, even if just once. My relationship with my family was in shambles; arguments were a weekly occurrence. That particular week, I overheard my family talking about me, and it shattered me. As I approached the door to enter my home, I heard my stepdad use horrific words to describe me. My mom chimed in, saying she wished I’d move as far away as possible. Then, laughter.

Can you imagine how I felt? I had never felt so lonely. But what I craved in that moment wasn’t comfort—it was revenge. Revenge through action. I didn’t go home. Instead, I walked to a nearby café. While scrolling through Instagram, I noticed a message from a man. He lived in a neighboring country—not too far, but far enough to feel thrilling. We started chatting casually; he told me he was in his twenties and working as a doctor. I mentioned I had finished all my exams for the week and had five days off from school. Then he said something that floored me: “Why don’t you come here for a few nights? Your trip is covered by Dr. [his name].” My jaw dropped. What if I just went? I thought to myself.

I did some fact-checking and found his family online—his sister, parents. At the time, that felt like enough reassurance. Looking back, I realize how reckless I was. Agreeing to this was madness.

An hour later, I received an email with my flight details. But there was a glaring issue: it was a one-way ticket. The flight was scheduled for the next day. I hesitated to ask about the return ticket, thinking maybe he’d forgotten to send it. You might think I was foolish not to ask, and I was, but I didn’t stress too much. I had enough savings to cover a return flight, which cost around 100 euros. Perfect, I thought, and went home to pack. I wasn’t even nervous—just thrilled to escape my house, even for a few days.

The next day, I told my mom I’d be gone for a few days. She was shocked and demanded to know where and why. I gave her a typical teenager response: “None of your business.” In hindsight, I should have explained. I left for the airport, and an hour later, I was greeted by the man. It was him.

Red Flag #1:

He was shy but kind, and his English was good, which put me somewhat at ease. However, as soon as we got into his car, he pulled up a map and said it would take 50 minutes to reach his place. That’s when the reality of my decision hit me. I had done something very dangerous, and there was no turning back. I gripped my phone and passport tightly, almost shaking.

We arrived at his apartment—a small, one-bedroom unit with no furniture, just a TV and a bed. I gasped silently, thinking, “What have I done?” To make matters worse, I had no Wi-Fi, no way to contact anyone, and no access to book a ticket back. I stayed quiet, trying to keep my composure while frantically brainstorming an escape plan.

Red Flag #2:

After a brief chat, he said he was going to take a shower. I agreed, but then I saw him grab the keys from the table and take them with him into the bathroom. My heart sank. This was a trap. I was convinced I was going to die. We were on the fourth floor, and I felt utterly trapped.

While he showered, I asked for the Wi-Fi password, pretending I needed it for something casual. Once connected, I immediately searched for flights back home. I didn’t book one just yet—I wanted to see how things unfolded, though my instincts screamed at me to leave.

That night, he went to bed early because he had work the next morning. Nothing happened between us; we just talked. But I couldn’t sleep. I lay awake, terrified. The next morning, as he got dressed for work, I pretended to be asleep. Then I heard it—the sound of the door locking from the outside. He had locked me in. My heart dropped. All i did was sit there and silence. I didn't even try to open the door because i was sure there was some kind of a alarm that would send a signal to his phone or something. I was in denial...

He sent me a msg an hour later that there is food in the fridge and that we could go shop food after he gets off. He worked only for about 2 hours.

He got back and I dont know if he could tell that i had been crying for the past hour. We just sat there and he suggested we'd take a walk. I agreed and got dressed. He said i didn't need my purse but i sneakily took my passport because i had that fight or flight mindset.

HE opened the door and guess what, i was right. As soon as the door was closed he locked it from the outside just like i heard. I dont know if he noticed that i saw that but thats when my heart began racing. I had no wifi anymore and i didn't even know where i was.

I was now too scared to ask him anything at all even about the return so i just played as calm as possible.

The whole walk I could feel my heart pumping and hands sweating. Its like every word that came out of his mouth proved me more that he was someone very disturbing wanting to do god knows what with me. I remember he even wore sunglasses and a cap which got me even more assured he was in a mafia. And the fact that he is a doctor. My mind was extremely creative during that walk connecting all the dots thinking he was going to cut my corpse open and sell my organs.

One point i saw him look away and i was ready to RUN for my life but i couldnt.

I assume you have a clear picture now what was racing through my mind as a 19 year old girl in an unknown city that speaks a foreign language. No hope.

Eventually after walking for 2 hours west & east we got back. We sat down and i was at the peak of bawling my eyes out.

He rested his legs little and thats when he said something that completely proved WRONG my crazy assumptions. "Oh i think i forgot to send you the return ticket, its tomorrow morning"

The feeling of relieve completely took over my body and soul. I was going to get out. "Yes i don't think you have". He sent me it and told me he was going to drive me there on time.

Gosh I was delusional i thought to myself the rest of the day. After getting that claritification i feel like i could finally relax my time actually there. For the first time i realized how beautiful the environment was and how kind he was aswell. I think when you have an assumption so crazy your brain instantly picks out the elements that back that assumption up even more.

But now i was finally enjoying. Enjoying the feeling of not being home while at the same time missing home more than ever to hug my mom.

Fast foward he drove me to the airport and helped me with the language thing with security.

I remember when he hugged me for the last time saying he's going to miss me i thought what a nice man he actually was. And i even realized that i was going to miss him too especially when i hadn't even focused on getting to know him better.

I arrived back home safe. I brought sweets from the airport to my parents to remember them. Well obviously it was no use because when i walked thru the front door they were already yelling at me. I never told them where i was. I just said that i needed a break from the noise with the most calmest tone known to man.

I couldn't tell them. I knew they would completely lose it. I never told my friends either.

A few days after i had returned home i had already gotten back into my old routines. I felt like the adrenaline i had experienced during those 2 days was enough to fill the rest of the year.

If you're curious what happened between me and him: I politely told him i was not interested but i wished everything good for him in life.

To this day i dont know if he had a motive somewhere in his mind and if he did what was it.

I am now 27, happy & out of that damn house. I'm glad i continued to work hard in school and on my career. I am a doctor now aswell indeed.

This story still keeps me sometimes up at night wondering where he is or what he's doing. Or

What would my life look like if i had been kidnapped.

This is a real story based on true events.

Not an English speaker.

So since a month i changed country due to my job promotion for a big role and since i'm in a higher role i have the chance to give promotions and all this stuff and this morning what i wrote in the title happened.

So i was reviewing clients contracts, companies expenses and all this stuff when 2 documents caught my attention because they were having the same name at the bottom. I checked others and at the end i saw that the same name was on a lot of documents so i made a small research on who was the guy. It turned out the guy was almost on the top list of people with more overtime. So it was easy to understand, he was taking responsabilities and risks above his role, hard worker and was doing a ton of overtime.

So i just leaned back looking at his name and he reminded of me. Hard worker, crazy overtime hours(even if my overtime wasn't paid), taking risky choices and so i decided to award him with a promotion. (Actually i didn't understood why he wasn't having any promotion but he was always at the same role and salary despite all this things)

So i called him in my office to deliver the news and when he arrived and took a seat i noticed he was sweating and was shaking so i told him to take a glass of water amd reassured him that i wasn't about to fire him and he seemed relief but when i opened my mouth to talk again he caught me off guard "boss did i do something wrong? I made some mistakes? Am i in trouble?". I just smiled and told him no and then told him that i appreciated a lot his dedication and hard work for this company so i was giving him a promotion and a salary raise.(from around 30k a year to around 50k)

He again caught me off guard when i finished and started crying. Not a few tears but was actually seriously crying. It went for a few minutes until he asked me "boss can i have a hug?". I was stunned but replied "ehm....ok i guess..." and he actually huged me ahahah. But then explained why. According to him 2 days ago he was talking with his gf about saving money for their future, their future house, a wedding and their new life so this promotion was coming at the perfect timing and out of the blue asked me if i was some kind of friend of his gf because it was a weird coincidence that 2 days ago they were talking about this and today he got his first promotion but again i smiled and joked "well it depends, if your gf is cute i can surely become her friend hahahah".

So we talked a bit and he again thanked me. I thought that it was the end of this but then when we had the morning break and i was down to take a coffee with some collegues we noticed that he stepped aside and made a call. When he delivered the news we heard someone screaming at the phone "seriously? Tell me you're not joking, i'm so proud of you ...." We all exchanged a look like "ok, wtf is going on?" and then he confirmed that he called his gf and as we heard she was "a bit happy of the news" ahahah. (Of course bro, just a bit happy ahahah)

So just this. I really thought that he would just be happy about the promotion but it turned out to be very important for him and i'm just happy to valorize his hard work and dedication for our company. And until now is one of those shitty days and i'm already angry as hell and hope this day to end as quickly as possible but this guy's reaction just make happy and smiling.

First of all, sorry, because English is not my first language, so excuse me in advance for any mistakes i could have made.

Here is my story.

I've been working there for about 6 months now and late night shifts ends at 5am.

It's a big medical building where doctors, professors and students often come in order to study and experiment stuff.

I only work there as a simple technician but i have to be there until 5 in case something happens.

Everything was good until a couple weeks ago. I was alone and very fine with it: i like to put music in my headphones and do my job in peace.

But that night, my headphone turned off because i did not have battery anymore, so i put it on charge, and waited for 30min-1h to take it back.

During that time, i still did my job but i had to fix something in the building so i went there, without music, and knowing i was the only one in here.

I have to say that doors must be closed with a key everytime we pass them since there are very sensitive stuff which i can't talk about, but it's a security process.

I'm very carefull about it because i'm new here, and i love my job so i don't want to get fire, and it's part of my job to keep things safe.

So i went to fix this thing, closed the door behind me, came back to take my headphone, closed another door, and went out to take fresh air. I always double check when i close door. I also have OCD, so very practical in this case.

When i came back from fresh air, the door was already open. I closed it, surprised because i remembered i double checked, but i was very rational.

Although, the second door was also open.

Every. door. of. the. building. was. opened.

I first thought that an alarm went off and opened all of them, no sign of it. I checked on my computer, it's part of my job, i have access to every info about this. Nothing. happened.

I checked the cameras, No one was there.

The keys to open them are very secured and can't be copied unless you go to a specialist with a special agreement from the boss.

I had to close all of them and made a report about it.

When i made my report, i had to leave work, and while leaving, i heard somebody walking behind me, so i was indeed scared the shit out of me so i started to run as fast as i could until my house (i live at 20min from work).

When i arrived home, i took a shower to get things out of my mind, and went down to eat something and tell a friend about it. They did not believe me a single second and told me i might be tired since i work a lot.

When i hang up, i just had time to put the food on the table that somebody else calleld me. THe man on the phone told me he was my half-brother that i never heard of before, he followed me to work, and tried to assault me because he hates me that i never tried to look for him, but then was scared because all the doors opened at the same time so he left.

I thought i was alone, then i thought we were two, now i don't freaking know.

Now every night i'm scared, tried to talk about it with my collegues but no one believes me. Idk why, but i do always keep my headphones on, and try to always have battery. I don't want to live anything like that again. Idk what to do.

An Choclate Bear! its weird a bit creppy ill send the image

I was going to see protests related to Palestine’s genocide once again but I didn’t find anyone so I decided to change the mood and took a different path. There was a downhill slope and I suddenly accelerated thinking a car might appear from the left 🚗. And sure enough a car appeared and passed me by as I turned left. I braked hard and fell off my bike 🚴‍♂️. The bike slid and the car passed by. I waved my right hand and the driver raised his hand as if he understood. Suddenly another car with an old man with a beard stopped. He asked if I was okay and I said I was fine. He then told me I had hit him. I said yes I did. He saw two kids nearby who told him I hit him. I told him no he was driving fast and I was trying to protect myself from the collision. It came out of nowhere and it was a shock 😵‍💫.

Its the second time within a month that this happened, and i wanted to look at what you Think. It was a rather normal school day. I stayed in the classroom for the break, when i suddenly hear a PA announcement that says „all people in the building, go outside” at first i thought it was just for some rowdy kids, when my teacher went into the classroom, covering her mouth and telling me to get the fuck out, because someone sprayed pepper spray all throughout the school building, and it was so strong that they had to empty the entire building. I didnt notice anything at first, maybe a spicy smell in the air. I went down, i asked a while later if they know anything what happened, the teachers said they didnt see anything. I also saw a kid being brought to the ambulance that was called, and it coughed like crazy and their eyes were swollen. A while later they bring us back in, only to when back in, the PA is saying that someone sprayed the pepper spray again, and we had to go home. This time i noticed it and coughed all the way down the stairs. My throat is still itching, despite a few hours already passing. What are your thoughts on that? My guess its either like in the title that a t-side from cs is in our school, or someone is so paranoid, that they are ready to Carry two cans of pepper spray and fire them at anyone who could pose a threat to them.

look this guy and this stupid bullshit ice cream mystery like im feeling like a pawn to a mystery being unveiled please research and help us find who or what made these disturbing tapes.. if you don't understand its fine just read the post i made the ice cream one please comment a resolve.. its been driving me insane scrolling through the internet for some giant conspiracy look if this message is written to you and you can see it help me with this BULLSHIT .. ################################################################################ IkZvciB0aGUgbG92ZSBvZiBtb25leSBpcyB0aGUgcm9vdCBvZiBhbGwgZXZpbDogd2hpY2ggd2hpbGUgc29tZSBjb3ZldGVkIGFmdGVyLCB0aGV5IGhhdmUgZXJyZWQgZnJvbSB0aGUgZmFpdGgsIGFuZCBwaWVyY2VkIHRoZW1zZWx2ZXMgdGhyb3VnaCB3aXRoIG1hbnkgc29ycm93cy4i

There once lived a golden crow. His feathers shimmered like molten gold.
To humans, he was a miracle—a divine being. They marveled at him, some even worshipped him, believing he was a gift from the heavens. To them, a single feather was said to bring endless fortune.
But beauty is a strange thing. What some see as a gift, others curse as a flaw.
To humans, he was something to admire. But among his own kind, he was a mistake.

To them, he was not a marvel but a curse. His golden feathers were seen as an unnatural flaw. So, they decided to avoid him and when he tried to join them, they turned away.

He would often gaze at his reflection, wondering, Why?

He had two eyes, two wings, just like them. His caw wasn’t strange. His flight wasn’t clumsy. His blood was red, and when he cried, tears streamed from his eyes like any other.
He wasn’t so different.
So why did they treat him like he didn’t belong?

The golden crow was lonely and with time, he became lonelier.

He longed for companionship. He wanted to be accepted, to belong. So, he did everything he could to be like them.

He coated his golden feathers with mud. He rolled in the dirt to dull his feathers, plucked away some of them and painted himself with soot and mud.

He did everything but no matter how much he changed, they never accepted him.

Then, one day, he caught his reflection in a puddle.

The bird staring back at him was dull and lifeless. The golden feathers were gone.

He had lost himself trying to please those who never cared for him. He had traded his beauty for nothing.

And by the time he realized it, it was already too late.

He lifted his wings and saw that it had lost everything that made him special. He had spent so long convincing himself that the problem was with his golden feathers. That he was the problem, that he was different.

But now, he finally saw the truth.

The others were never going to accept him. Not truly. Not even if he covered every last trace of gold. To them, he would always be the crow that used to shine.
And now… he was nothing.

So the golden crow turned away.

He spread his wings and took to the sky.

He flew higher than ever before—above the trees, beyond the wind, past the clouds. He kept going until the whole world stretched endlessly before it.

And for the first time…

"He felt free."

Perhaps he had lost his golden feathers. Perhaps he had given away everything that once made him special.

But in return, he had found something far more precious.

He had found himself.

No one ever saw the golden crow again. Some say He disappeared and is never going to return. But others believe that he still flies, above the clouds where the sun kisses his wings and though he no longer glows with golden light, somewhere deep inside, his heart still shines.

So I was in this random thrift store in upstate New York—run-down place, kinda half Chinese-import stuff, half old junk—and I found this dusty box of VHS tapes near the back. Most of them are blank or taped-over cartoons, but one had a label:
"Scoop & Smile™ – Employee Training '88."

At first, I thought it was just a kids' show, but the characters are.. off. They’re supposed to be ice cream mascots, I think—chocolate, vanilla, peppermint—but something about them feels wrong—melted, warped.

The video glitches a few seconds in, and there’s a voice under the audio—like someone trying to talk through the tape. A woman’s voice. It cuts in and out like it’s buried in static.

I’m going to try and digitize the full thing.
This doesn't feel like just a commercial.

If anyone’s ever heard of Scoop & Smile™, please let me know.

I’ll post more soon.

— Alex " SSBhbSBzb3JyeSB0aGF0IEkgaGF2ZSBzaW5uZWQuIC0gMSBTYW11ZWwgMTU6MjQ="

I’ll never forget a moment that happened a few years ago. I was in a really tough spot emotionally and financially, and I’d been having a rough time with work. One afternoon, I was sitting at a small coffee shop, trying to stay out of the rain and just clear my mind. My phone was dead, I was out of cash, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it through the next week.

Out of nowhere, an older man came up to me and asked if I was doing okay. We struck up a conversation, and I honestly didn’t expect much to come of it. But as we talked about life, he quietly left, only to return minutes later with a small envelope. He handed it to me and said, “I hope this helps,” and then he left. When I opened the envelope, there was $100 inside. I didn’t know what to say, but I felt so overwhelmed by his kindness. That simple gesture completely changed my perspective and gave me the strength to push forward.

I’ve never seen him again, but I will always remember that moment. It made me realize how powerful a small act of kindness can be. Has anyone else had a moment like this where a stranger made a huge impact on your life without even realizing it?

My guy friends shame me for my race call me racist slurs as a joke and stuff but it's been getting too far honestly while my other group of guy friend who is the same race as me is calling me bad words but like for no actual reason.. I feel like it has to also do with the fact I give it so much attention or I backanswer when they call me such.. altho they are my good guy friends wtf is this behavior and does all guys do the same to their girl best friends? Is it because yall are too comfortable with us and consider us y'all's homies or sum? I don't get it

MY ELDEST SIS IS THE BEST TYPE OF SISTER, she also hated the 'artist' my sister, the FAVORITE had sketchbook, I opened it and I saw her drawing NSFW. I told my sister, (eldest) and even she was disgusted. And also Lucy, swears at strangers( T O B E C O N T I N U E D......)

if you like to listen to sci fi podcast i have one of taking the world of west world, the matrix and our world and an intersection where parts of all three are true to form a sci fi world that incorporates all three into one.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7C5vtF3te1uoagtos1x9wX

so me and my bf started dating on January,, everything's been going well until he told me how he keeps getting calls on no caller ID. i told him not to reply and he never did, and when it kept bothering him he blocked all the unknown numbers calls but then he had to remove it because his friends sometimes call him on unsaved numbers and I've actually seen his friends do so. he told me it's probably his ex calling him on no caller id because these calls started since me and him started dating. her friend saw us together so she definitely told her. one time he went to the gym and he was supposed to go with his friend he got a call on no caller id and when he answered it was her. he asked her what does she wants she said she wanted to say happy birthday he said i said what do you wants he told me she started guilt tripping him telling him that she felt hurt when she kept contacting him and that she needed him but he never replied he told her he had a girlfriend now and he's happy with her and that she's the one. he said she stared crying and asking how did he move on. he said he told her that he was a man with her and " kan nawi lhlal" but she no match for him and now it's over and she should focus on herself and move on, she kept saying but wait he said he hung up the phone on her face. when he told me about this when he got back from the gym i didnt believe him even though he never lied to me and he showed me screenshots of her asking him for a second chance multiple times after they broke up and he just declined and blocked her everywhere. he even blocked her number so she probably used her mom's phone. i told him i didnt believe him and asked for her account he said sure here's her account you can ask her about what i told her in the call, so i texted i said i was his girlfriend and if we can talk she acted like she didn't know me and she was so defensive first thing she said " gurl he was obsessed with me and you're just a rebound " and kept calling me names and saying that im such a pick me for texting her over a guy and was like " hada yt9abdo elih nas ??" although i just wanted to tell her not to call him again. she called me some names so i blocked her. a day passed she sent her friend to text me and sent me some screenshots of her and him when they were in a relationship acting all sweet to make me jealous. i blocked her friend too,, days after she got in contact with one of my college " friends " that friends claimed she met her at l'auto école and my friend mentioned if she knew me and she was like of yeah she's dating my ex. and she said that the ex told her that my boyfriend was actually nice to her in the call although my bf told me he was so rude and yelled at her and she said she was surprised that i texted her and told my friend that i attacked her although i never did. she also told my friend that he kept calling her on no caller id. then she showed her some pics of him and her when they were tgt. my " friend " told me " look i hate your boyfriend I've always hated him and i feel bad for the girl she can't move on even though he doesn't care about her ghadtni bezzaaaf " and she kept telling me to break up with him. and then she told me she will make a gc w her and the ex again, so his ex contacted me for the third time and she said i never wanted to date him but he was just so obsessed with me calling me on no caller ID during exams ( that's when me and him started meeting ) and that he was sweet to her on the call and that he's a hypocrite w mayhbch yrbeh l3eyb lnas, she said they dated for 7 months ( he told me they dated for 3 only ) she said she never called him on no caller id and she didnt call for him birthday because she doesn't even know it and she only called to apologise because sbto mn 9bel amd said she didnt even know about me. i actually got so mand for some reason she was so convincing and i was going to break up with him i called him a liar and all until he brought this girl who was a mutual friend between and her ex. their mutual friend called me and said they dated for 3 months and then he broke up with her he cut all ties with her and she's been obsessed ever since. she said she even used this girl's number to call him on no caller id because she misses his voice and how he would say " allo " she told me she's been stalking me irl and my accounts since January and she showed me screenshots of her talking trash about me and him January and she showed me screenshots of her talking trash about me and him. honestly i didnt believe my bf at first when he told me abt the call because he said he just told her to leave him alone and that he's got a gf and all, but when she mentioned the win galha ana kont rajel meak w kont nawi Ihlal he didnt tell me about it. and when i asked him if he said it at first he said he forgot and then i told him that if he did that those stuff it would be disgusting he told me he was scared that i would break up with him so he said he didnt say those sentences, and when he asked for his mutual friend opinion's whether it was wrong to say those things she said no it's normal you had to say them so she could leave him alone. for me i thought that he said those stuff to keep her lingering around but he said no he was just being mature and that if he wanted to lead her on he wouldn't have mentioned that he has a gf whom he loves and that if he actually wanted her he would've gotten her back before he even knew me because she kept asking him for second chances for a long time. (he showed me everything) these are screenshots of her asking about me with the mutual friend and sent me vns of her telling her about how we were holding hands in the campus and how she was definitely prettier than me

A few weeks ago, I told the barista I liked her earrings. They were small and blue, shaped like tiny raindrops. She blinked at me like she didn’t hear me at first, then smiled and said, “Thank you. No one ever notices these.” It was such a simple thing, but her smile stuck with me all day. I couldn’t stop thinking about how such a small comment had that much impact. Later that week, during a tough day at work, I complimented my coworker on how she handled a stressful meeting. She laughed and said, “You have no idea how much I needed to hear that today.” That’s when I realized we all walk around with these quiet insecurities, hoping someone will notice the good in us. Since then, I’ve made it a point to say what I’m thinking—if I admire someone, I tell them. If something’s good, I say it out loud. It takes maybe five seconds. But those five seconds might echo for hours in someone else’s life. It’s such a small thing to give, and yet, it can change everything.

I just got back from a trip with my S/O and we argued the whole time we were there over the most ridiculous things. Does anyone else do this? I need to make myself laugh x

I've known him my whole life, since kindergarten. We're really close and constantly hanging out, travelling together, messaging every day. I love him as a brother. I'm his best friend, and one of his only friends. He doesn't have anyone else that he's really close with.

We're both in our mid thirties, he had never touched alcohol until his mid twenties. He has been drinking for many years now, and he drinks A LOT! He can easily polish off a bottle of vodka in a night. Recently he finished a case of Suntory (10 cans, 6% alcohol) by himself. A case of beer won't last him more than a day or two. His tolerance for alcohol is impressive, I haven't met a single person who can keep up.

He overconsumes everything; alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, even things like gambling, sex (casual hookups with different women), frivolous spending. He manages to pull back his addictions right before it gets too damaging, except for alcohol.

It's crazy how much he can drink, and be able to function. But I'm really worried about his physical and mental health. He drinks until he blacks out. The thing is he says that alcohol doesn't negatively impact him. Most of his drinking is done over the weekend and he heavily cuts back on weekdays.

He has a stable, good paying job. Has his own place. He goes to the gym almost every day, and continues to break PBs. He's well built, extremely fit and takes really good care of himself. He takes a million different vitamin pills everyday.

He's genuinely a good person whether sober or drunk. His family is concerned but are enablers (I'm also guilty of that too). I've tried talking to him about it but the conversation always gets shut down quickly. His answer is always the same, he would rather live life to the max and die young, instead of growing old but living a boring life.

I'm convinced he's going to drink himself to death. He's not showing any signs of slowing down, and seems healthy. But who knows how long that will last.

I'm not sure how, or if I can even help him.

Edit - sorry I can't keep up with all the comments. It's 4am where I live. The advice so far has been amazing though.