When I Walk Through the Door by Anna M. Wang
- Anna M. Wang
- Apr 2
- 2 min read
When I walk through the door, I will smile like I mean it. I will be charming and make jokes that everyone finds funny. I will be able to hear everything that everyone says to me. I will remember what I hear and who says it and what their name was and what they look like.
When I walk through the door, I will speak enough to leave an impression, but not so much that I’m annoying. I will make the right amount of eye contact and naturally know what to do with my face when someone is talking. I will know where the toilets are and be able to point someone in the right direction if they ask. I will pick delicately at finger foods, and I won’t get sauce smudged on my face or seasoning dust on my fingertips.
When I walk through the door, I won’t pick at the skin around my nails and chew it off. I won’t want to cry. I won’t make excuses to go somewhere else and be alone. I will be happy to be in the room with the people and the noise and chatter. I will fit in on the other side.
I just need to walk through the door.
Anna M. Wang (@annamwang) is a Bristol-based librarian and writer. Born in Malaysia, her family moved to the UK in 2005 when she was eleven years old. She has an MA in Creative and Life Writing from Goldsmiths, University of London, specialising in flash fiction. Her novella in flash, Prodigal (2023), is available from Ad Hoc fiction and on Amazon and came runner up in the Bath Flash Fiction Novella in Flash Award (2023).
