Maya hugged her knees. “So what’s the helpful part? How do I stop the loop?”
Maya had been listening to the same song for forty minutes. Not the whole song, really — just one part. A loop of three words: Baby baby baby. The beat was relentless, almost mocking. She sat on her apartment floor surrounded by sketches she’d abandoned halfway, a cold cup of coffee, and a phone full of unanswered texts.
Leo found her there, leaning against the sofa, eyes half-closed, head nodding involuntarily.
She opened her eyes.
He gestured to her phone. “Play it again. But this time, don’t just feel the beat. Ask: what does the girl need in order to dance? Not what someone else wants her to do. What does she need?”
“I need to stop waiting to be made to feel something,” she said. “I need to dance because I want to. For me.”
Repetitive thoughts or desires aren’t always signs of madness — sometimes they’re your mind’s way of asking you to pay attention. When you feel stuck in a loop, stop trying to escape it. Instead, ask: What is this feeling really needing from me? The answer is rarely more of the same chase. It’s usually the courage to choose yourself first.
“I’m trying to figure out why this song makes sense,” Maya said. “It’s just a demand. ‘Make the girl dance.’ And then the chant — baby baby baby — like a broken record. But it feels… honest.”