"I think I'm a lousy listener."

"Oh? You finally realized?"

"Yeah..."

She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table.

"It's not hard to guess. It's pretty obvious."

Sitting across the table, Kai dug in to her food.

"Yeah. Whenever I tell you something, is either you're day dreaming or you're doing something else."

Sally raised her right eyebrow.

"I was listening okay. Just that I had nothing else to say, so I didn't response."

There was a short pause while Kai slurped onto her noodles.

"Among all my friends, I realized no one comes to me for advise,"Sally said.

"That's because you're too direct and straightforward," Kai pointed out.

"Yeah. That's why." Sally sighed.

"But I can't help myself! Some people just need to be slapped in the face!"

"But no one ask you for your advise. They just want you to listen!"

"You just have to show your sympathy, and give supportive remarks even though you're not on their side. Showering them with all your positiveness... Something like that!" 

"That's so fake! Doesn't that make you a fake friend?"

"Not really... I guess?" 

"No way, I can't do that! It's either I slap them with my realistic advise or they don't get any of it."

"For example, there was this friend of mine, a girl, who broken up not long ago." Sally shared.

"She was in a state of denial, and she couldn't accept the fact that she just got dumped."

"And then?"

"So, as a friend, I tried as much as possible to listen to her complaints and her sober stories and bla bla bla while offering my sympathy as much as possible."

"Then....?"

"Until, one day, she says she doesn't deserve to be dumped because she says 'she's the perfect person. Everyone wants her. She's the perfect wife material! She knows how to cook, workout, and has a good family background, she doesn't deserve to be dumped' That's what she said and it's totally insane!

"She really said that?! Wow... that's... a lot of ego she has!"

"I know right? She's so full of herself and she's fucking stubborn!"

"Like you."

"Yes, like me. But I'm better okay..." Sally pointed out.

"I give in only when people give me rationalize examples and proven experience that they had experience. Otherwise I won't accept whatever they said."

"Well, that's true."

"Anyway, back to the story..." Sally resumed.

"After hearing those remarks from her, I went berserk! I gave her a piece of my thoughts!"

"What did you say?"

"I told her that the world doesn't revolve around you, and not everything is about you. You, me, or anyone else don't deserve anything that you think should belongs to you, unless that something or someone is legally stated somewhere lah but that's another different story."

"I told her that everyone in this world has the right to leave at anytime, and if they leave, we should just respect their choice even if they don't have a valid reason for leaving!"

"Wow. So deep and true. So what happen next?"

"I don't know, but I hope she gets over with it and move on with her life."

Sally sighed.

"I usually don't give advises, but when I do, I only give them to those who are closest to me."

* * *

"You know..."

"I used to be a good listener during my high school days..."

Then? What happen?

"More people came to me. Their problems became petty complaints that they don't want to do anything about. Just, complaining and not taking any action.

I became tired of it. Tired of everything else.

I got better things to worry about than their daily problems. I have my own set of problems you know? And I had no one to tell them to. So, I give them my own realistic advise to shut them up..."

"And they never come back to me... again."