Three months ago I started getting texts from an unknown number. Every night. Exactly **2:17 AM**. The first message just said: *“Did you lock the balcony door?”* I thought it was a wrong number. I ignored it. Next night, **2:17 AM** again. *“You forgot to water the plant again.”* Now that was weird. I **do** have a plant on my balcony. I had actually forgotten to water it. I replied: “Who is this?” No response. Next night: *“Don’t drink the milk in the fridge. It expired yesterday.”* I checked. It **had** expired yesterday. At this point I was half creeped out, half curious. So I wrote: “Okay this is getting weird. How do you know these things?” Two minutes later the reply came. *“Because I used to live there.”* That actually made sense. Maybe the previous tenant still had some weird attachment to the place. So I asked her name. *“Aanya.”* Over the next few weeks we kept talking. Only at **2:17 AM**. Never during the day. She knew **every corner of the apartment**. Which floorbo...
I’ve tried to like coffee. I really have. I feel like at this point I deserve some kind of participation trophy for effort alone. I mean I’ve tried it with sugar, with milk, and with creamer. I’ve tried it hot, iced, cold brew, drowning in chocolate, and even with ice cream. Nothing works. I cannot make myself like the taste of bean water, ok?! My taste buds hate coffee so much so that if Dunkin’ makes my hot chocolate in the same machine as the coffee, I will not be able to drink it. People talk about coffee like it’s the nectar of the gods or the fuel of civilization that keeps society from collapsing before noon. And yet, one sip for me and it's like my taste buds just stepped on a Lego. At this point, I’ve accepted that my relationship with coffee can only best be described as grounds for separation.