My Friend Reprimanded Me for Asking, “How Are You?”
Every time I answered, “I’m fine” I was lying
It was around 9:00 pm when I called her as usual. As it was our custom, we would start cracking jokes and laughing from the onset. This call was not an exception.
After about two minutes of constant laughing and joking, I asked, “so how are you today?” she hesitated for a while and responded with a question, “what kind of question is that?” I laughed because I thought she was cracking another joke. After all, I had asked her this question many times and she had not had any issue answering.
However, this day was an exception for her. A day she wanted to set the record straight. It was not business as usual.
It finally dawned on me that her question was not just another one of her jokes. I had to clarify my question. In a gentle voice, I told her, “I just want to know how you are doing?”
Then she started, “I don’t mean to offend you but you’ve been making me a liar. Every time I answered you “I’m fine” I was lying. I don’t want to keep lying anymore.”
Innocently, I asked again, “what do you mean I’ve been making you a liar? Why would you lie?” I was eager for my charges to be read to me.
In response, she gave me this statement…