Chapter 105 - Easier on Purpose #3
"Then why comprehensive screening this young?"
I smiled.
"I like data."
She laughed.
"Fair."
I did not tell her—
I have already died several times.
That felt medically distracting.
Exercise became non-negotiable too.
Not punishment.
Not optimization.
Movement.
Walking.
Strength.
Stretching because apparently having functional hips was a privilege I now respected.
One morning, Sofia saw me stretching in the living room.
She stopped.
Stared.
I stared back.
"What?"
"You exercise now?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Longevity."
She blinked.
"You're twenty-three."
"Exactly."
She walked away.
"You're weird."
Correct.
Then one afternoon, Ate Bianca called.
"Lia."
"Yes?"
"May kailangan ako."
"Send details."
"Meeting."
"When?"
"Tomorrow."
"What time?"
"Three."
I checked.
Free.
"Okay."
Silence.
Then—
"Okay?"
"Yes."
"You're available?"
"Yes."
"Wow."
I sighed.
"Why is everyone shocked when I say yes?"
"Because dati—"
"Busy."
"Yes."
"I know."
Ate Bianca laughed.
"Character development."
I closed my eyes.
Apparently this phrase had infected the family.
Jane and Chloe kept inviting me out.
Not constantly.
Normal adult frequency.
Coffee.
Dinner.
Mall.
Birthday.
Random—
free ka sunday?
Sometimes I said yes.
Sometimes no.
But now no had a reason beyond reflex.
Lia:
can't sunday. supplier meeting
Chloe:
next saturday?
I checked.
Lia:
yes
Jane:
wow scheduling works
Lia:
apparently
Another week—
Jane:
coffee later?
I checked the time.
Work ended at six.
Coffee at seven.
Possible.
My old brain whispered—
You could use that hour to review inventory.
I looked at the message.
Then at ops, currently reviewing inventory.
Right.
I was not the only adult in the company.
Lia:
game
Jane replied—
growth
I stared.
Then—
Lia:
i'm blocking you
Jane:
see you 7
At seven, I arrived.
Jane was already there.
Chloe came ten minutes later.
Jane looked at me.
"No laptop?"
"No."
"Work phone?"
"In bag."
"You're not checking?"
"Not unless something is on fire."
Chloe sat down.
"What if something is on fire?"
"Then they call."
Jane:
"What if customer asks for rush?"
"They can wait."
Both of them stared.
Then Chloe—
"Who are you?"
I took a drink.
"Lola."
Jane laughed.
"At least self-aware."
We stayed for two hours.
Nothing important happened.
That was the important part.
Chloe complained.
Jane complained.
I complained less than expected.
We discussed food.
Some former classmate.
A teacher who apparently still used the same profile picture after ten years.
Jane showed us a terrible student PowerPoint.
I looked.
"Transition is bad."
She stared.
"Student yan."
"Still."
Chloe laughed.
"Some things never change."
Correct.
On the way home, I sat in the back of a booked car.
Not driving.
Not checking work.
Just looking out the window.
I thought about how much money I'd spent in the past few months on things twenty-three-year-old Lia would have called unnecessary.
Accountant.
Lawyer.
Admin.
Ops.
Maintenance.
Better workspace.
Chair.
Healthcare.
Transport.
None of them directly printed an order.
None of them personally created revenue in the simplistic way younger me understood revenue.
But everything felt—
lighter.
Not easy.
Business was still business.
Customers still changed their minds.
Suppliers still lied about delivery dates.
Machines still developed personalities.
Employees still made mistakes.
Cash still required attention.
Growth still created new problems.
But I wasn't waiting until suffering became unbearable before buying relief.
That was different.
I had spent too many lives treating comfort like a reward.
After the milestone.
After the revenue target.
After the next hire.
After the next expansion.
After I deserved it.
Stupid.
If a chair protected my back—
buy the chair.
If an accountant protected my cash—
pay the accountant.
If a lawyer prevented expensive stupidity—
call the lawyer before the stupidity.
If a driver gave me six hours of life back—
buy the hours.
If another person could learn the work—
teach them before I hated the work.
Comfort wasn't laziness.
Sometimes comfort was simply a system designed around the fact that human beings had bodies and finite hours.
Revolutionary.
I opened my notes.
Added one line.
Do not confuse suffering with seriousness.
I stared at it.
Then another.
Ease can be deliberate.
And finally—
Easier on purpose.
There.
That felt right.
I put the phone away.
Outside, Manila kept moving.
Businesses open.
People commuting.
People eating.
People going home.
My company would still be there tomorrow.
My employees knew what to do.
My accountant had the books.
My lawyer had the contract draft.
Ops had tomorrow's production.
Admin had the customer queue.
Nobody needed me at ten at night.
For once—
being unnecessary felt like success.
The car kept moving.
I leaned back against the seat.
Good lumbar support.
I smiled.
"Lola approved."