Hey you,

Yes, you, reading this right now.

It’s me—Butter. And I know it’s been a while. Too long, actually. And trust me, it wasn’t my intention to vanish like a magician mid-act. But sometimes life gets so heavy, even breathing feels like effort. I didn’t ditch you, I just… broke a little. Quietly.

A lot has happened. The kind of “lot” that makes you question everything.

I Took a Stand… and Everything Changed

You know, when you imagine standing up for something important, you think there’ll be claps. Maybe a slow-motion background score. People thanking you for being brave.

Well—no music played. No applause. Just silence. Cold, echoing silence.

I stood up against something no one wanted to talk about—gender-based harassment. Not against a stranger, not some anonymous villain. But against a friend of my best friend.

Let that sink in.

Do you know how hard it is to choose truth when it comes wrapped in the face of someone your loved ones trust? When you know the price won’t be just discomfort—it’ll be heartbreak?

I spoke up. I didn’t whisper. I spoke up. And slowly, I saw people I loved turn away, as if my voice had burned their comfort.

I wasn’t trying to destroy anyone’s world. I was trying to protect mine. But somehow, that made me the villain in theirs.

Then Came the Unraveling…

While I was still nursing that emotional bruise, the second wave hit. At work.

Financial scams.

Hospital billing loopholes.

Purchasing irregularities.

You name it. I found it. Or rather—it found me.

I didn’t plan to be the whistleblower. I was just doing my job. But suddenly I was knee-deep in dirt I didn’t create, holding up the mirror while others looked away.

And let me tell you—when you try to clean a system that’s grown used to the mess, it fights you. It claws back. It tries to break you.

Worse? It isolates you.

People I thought were my anchors disappeared.

Some didn’t even say goodbye.

And among them… was my best friend.

He didn’t agree. Or maybe he couldn’t. Maybe he wasn’t ready to accept that someone close to him could be the problem. I get it. I really do. But it still broke me.

Alone, but Not Abandoned

In the middle of all this chaos, grief, and gut-wrenching loneliness… I clung to faith.

There’s something about pain that peels you open. You start to notice the quiet blessings. The people who smile at you without agenda. The ones who text, “Just checking in”, even when you haven’t replied in days.

New people entered my life. With fresh eyes. With open arms. With no idea of the war I’d just walked out of—but somehow, they made space for me anyway.

God showed up—in the kind stranger, the new colleague, the little unexpected laugh when I hadn’t smiled in weeks.

Life Teaches, But It Doesn’t Pamper

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how people come and go in life. How sometimes, the ones you thought were permanent end up just being chapters—not the whole story. And maybe that’s okay.

Maybe we’re not meant to keep everyone forever. Maybe we’re just meant to love them while we have them.

And when it’s time to part—whether in anger or silence or just inevitable drift—we grieve, we bless, and we keep walking.

Because that’s life, isn’t it? A long walk with unexpected exits and even more unexpected entries.

So Here I Am

A little worn.

A little wiser.

Not the same person I was when I last wrote to you—but someone still worth knowing, I hope.

And if you’re going through something similar—if you’ve lost friendships over truth, or stood alone in the name of what’s right—I want you to know this: you are not alone.

It hurts. Yes.

But it heals too. Eventually.

And someday, you’ll look back and realize: you didn’t lose yourself.

You found yourself.

With love (and a heart stitched back with golden thread),

Butter

Hello, fellow hungry hearts,

Let me just put it out there: Butter is not okay. You know it’s serious when an omelette—a food that quite literally cooks itself if you blink—starts tasting like damp cardboard. The last time I tried to whip up something “quick,” I ended up eating two sad slices of bread while watching a YouTube tutorial on how to boil an egg. (It was 17 minutes long. Seventeen! For boiling an egg! That egg never stood a chance.)

See, I’ve developed a nasty little habit of heading to the kitchen only when I’m already hungry. Like stomach-growling, world-blurring, hangry-hobbit hungry. And by that time, my decision-making skills have gone out the window. The result? I either:

Order food (again), Eat dry cereal while standing like a raccoon in front of the fridge, or Attempt to cook something and end up making… a mess. A sad, salty mess.

So I’ve finally admitted defeat. Or rather—I’ve decided to fight back. Because I can’t let Zomato and Swiggy eat my wallet and my pancreas. I want food that is:

Simple Nutritious TASTY (!!!) And doesn’t scream “post-surgery diet.”

So I’ve hacked together some life-saving (and budget-saving) kitchen strategies for anyone out there who’s busy, burned out, and possibly crying over scrambled eggs.

🥦 1. The Sunday Savior: Prep Now, Thank Yourself Later

I used to laugh at people who meal prep. “Look at them, so organized,” I’d smirk, while eating instant noodles at 10 PM. But honestly? Prepping one big batch of something once a week is the holy grail.

Roast a tray of veggies: Carrots, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, bell peppers—toss in olive oil + garlic + any dried herbs. Roast at 200°C for 30-40 minutes. Boil a few eggs and store them in the fridge. Instant protein bombs. Cook a big batch of grains: Rice, quinoa, or millets—pick your poison. Marinate some paneer/chicken/tofu and store it in the fridge. It takes five minutes to sauté later and feels gourmet.

Future You is gonna cry tears of gratitude. Past You can go nap.

🍛 2. Upgrade Your Instant Food Without Destroying Your Soul

Listen, I’m not here to snatch your Maggi. But let’s make it a little more respectable:

Throw in frozen peas, chopped carrots, or spinach. Crack an egg in there—BOOM, protein. Sprinkle some sesame seeds or a dash of lemon juice at the end for a cheffy touch.

It’s like giving your comfort food a glow-up. Think lazy, but classy.

🥗 3. Build-Your-Own Bowls (Butter-Style)

When in doubt, assemble, don’t cook.

Grab a bowl and pile in:

A grain (rice, couscous, millets) A protein (boiled eggs, canned beans, sautéed tofu) Some veggies (raw, roasted, or even leftover sabzi) A dressing (yogurt + garlic + lemon, or even hummus if you’re feeling exotic)

Voila! A bowl that slaps, and takes less time than scrolling through food delivery apps.

🌮 4. Make a Wrap, Not a Fuss

Tortilla, roti, or even a humble paratha—wrap anything in it and suddenly it feels like you’ve made an effort.

Stuff it with:

Leftover curry and some onions Omelette + cheese Sprouts + chutney + raw veggies

It’s hand-held happiness. No cutlery. No cleanup. Just vibes.

🍲 5. Instant Soup for the Real You

Soup sounds boring, but not if you jazz it up:

Buy a decent-quality soup base (store-bought is fine). Add frozen corn, spinach, noodles, or even shredded chicken. Add chili flakes or squeeze in lime juice. BAM. Soul-soothing.

Pro tip: Soup is magical when your motivation is in the drain but your stomach is on fire.

☕ Bonus: Snack Smarter, Not Sadder

Some Butter-approved snacks:

Roasted chana (Indian grandma approved) Fruit + peanut butter (a love story) Cheese cubes and olives (fancy, but low-effort) Greek yogurt with honey + chia (sounds healthy because it is)

In Conclusion: You Deserve Better Than Boring Food & Burnt Eggs

So here’s the deal, dear friend: stop waiting until your stomach screams before you feed it. No one makes good decisions in a hanger storm. Stock your kitchen like it’s a mini café, set yourself up with easy hacks, and remember—flavor doesn’t have to mean fancy.

And if your omelette still turns out like a tortilla, just call it a “rustic egg pancake” and move on. We’re not chasing perfection. We’re chasing peace, good taste, and a stomach that doesn’t growl during Zoom calls.

Happy hacking,

Butter (Certified Burnt-Egg Survivor) 🧈

Would you like me to whip up a printable one-pager of these hacks for your fridge? Or maybe a cute “Butter’s Lazy Kitchen” checklist?

Dear friend,

It’s World Book Day! The one day when sniffing the pages of a paperback in public is socially acceptable. The one day when quoting a fictional wizard, a grumpy detective, or a teenage vampire gets you admiration instead of side-eyes. The day when bookstores feel like sacred temples and libraries smell like home. Honestly, it’s my kind of holiday.

Now, if you’re thinking, “Eh, I haven’t read a book in a while,” let me stop you right there. First of all—same. Life gets busy, screens are shiny, and our attention spans are shorter than that one haiku I wrote in high school. But reading is magic. And not just Hogwarts magic. I mean the kind of magic that quietly rewires your brain, expands your heart, and sometimes makes you cry in a coffee shop because the plot twist hit harder than your ex ever did.

Books Are Basically Time Machines, Teleporters, and Therapists

Books are sneaky little things. You think you’re just flipping pages, but suddenly you’re in 18th century France, running from the guillotine. Or you’re in space. Or you’re in someone else’s messy, beautiful, complicated life that looks nothing like yours—but also exactly like yours.

And it’s not just about reading other people’s words. World Book Day is also about writing them. So if you’ve got a little story living in your head—maybe about the time you accidentally ghosted your dentist or fell in love with someone at the airport (aisle 4, near the Cinnabon)—write it down! The world needs more voices like yours. Even the weird ones. Especially the weird ones.

If You Don’t Like Books, You Just Haven’t Met Your Book Yet

Maybe you think you don’t like reading. That’s cool. But let me ask you this—have you tried reading:

A murder mystery with a retired cat detective? A rom-com where the main couple hates each other over sourdough starter? A memoir written entirely in poems? A self-help book that actually makes you laugh instead of cringe?

There’s a book for every single mood. Grieving? There’s a book. Falling in love? There’s a book. Existential dread at 3 AM because life is confusing and also your rent is due? Yep—there’s a book for that too.

Start Small. Start Silly. Start Anywhere.

You don’t have to finish “War and Peace” by next Tuesday. You can start with 10 pages a day. Or one paragraph. Or just open the dang book and admire the font for a bit. That counts. Don’t let BookTok shame you with their color-coded reading goals and six-book weekends. This is not the Olympics. This is a soft, cozy, curious little journey—just for you.

So this World Book Day, let’s do something rebellious. Let’s slow down. Let’s disconnect. Let’s wander into stories. Let’s write badly and read joyfully and support our favorite indie bookstore with wild abandon (and maybe buy that pretty journal we’ll never use because, aesthetics).

Books don’t just help us escape. They help us arrive—more fully, more thoughtfully, more joyfully—right where we are.

Happy World Book Day, friend. Now go crack a spine (a book spine, please), and let the magic begin.

Love always,

Butter

Want some book recs or writing prompts? Drop me a comment or come raid my bookshelves (they’re alphabetized only in theory).