We played music low in the background, a playlist that nobody really picked but everybody liked. It was soft enough to let conversation breathe, yet present enough to stitch the evening together. Some of us hummed along. Some sat quietly. One person started telling a story about learning to ride a...

We had a ritual: whoever had the cup, had the floor. It wasn’t about rules or formal speaking turns it was about attention. You could pass the cup for a joke, a reflection, or even a pause. That night, someone shared a quiet worry, another offered a story from years ago, and by the time...

We’d lit a single candle in the center of the circle, more for mood than light, and it refused to stay still. Every time a breeze from the open window nudged it, the flame wavered like it was trying to tell us something. We laughed, shifting our chairs closer, leaning in to shield it, joking...