The List on the Fridge

Noa kept a mental list: who cooked, who called the plumber, who remembered the dentist. Yossi had his own list, different totals. One dinner, their friend Tamar laughed and said, "We stopped counting years ago, it's cheaper that way." Noa went quiet, then smiled. That week she skipped the tally and just did the dishes, no ledger in her head. Turns out the house ran fine without the scoreboard. Some things balance better when nobody's keeping count.

A little made-up story.