No One Woke Mai Up This Morning

7am. The alarm goes off, right on time, like every day. Mai lies still for three minutes after it stops — not out of laziness, but because her 12-square-meter rented room suddenly feels cold. No one knocked. No one called her name.

Back home, her mom knocked on her door every morning: "Mai, wake up and eat." This morning the alarm rang on its own, with nothing after it. Mai lies there staring at the ceiling, hearing only the air conditioner and traffic outside — instead of the smell of breakfast rising from the kitchen and her dad's morning news.

She used to get annoyed at being woken up too early — once she even snapped back at her mom. Now she just wishes she could hear that knock one more time. Her door stays quiet. No one's on the other side of it.

Mai sits up, boils water, and makes herself instant noodles for breakfast. For the first time, she understands clearly: growing up is when no one prepares things for you anymore.

No one prepares it for you anymore. You make your own noodles, and grow up.

Who woke you up this morning?