Hey Reader,

This email will take a bit of a different pace while I'm focused on writing the rest of Mad Virus. I think the good news is that because it's a balance of reoutlining, rewriting and revising, it's not as long as typically writing a first outline and draft from scratch for me. We can stitch together a lot of things, including the little bites I've written in my notes over recent years.

In those notes were also some self-reflective pieces. If you need a little escape today, check it out. I hope it can give you time to sit down and reflect introspectively.

I should be working. But my mind is more wired than normal, leading to stubbornness. I tend to be hard-headed, but this time, I swear, is for my own reprieve. I feel like I don’t ask for much. But that’s probably what every hardheaded person thinks, says, or at least feels when they stand behind a decision
​

Rain has been pouring for the past few days here in South Florida. Deliveries around this time are rampant. No one wants to cook. They want to mull over their senses to the sound of the pitter-patter rain and enjoy the comfort of their couch.

As for me, I want that too. But survival overtakes that luxury. My job as a courier has me walking through the downpour, procuring orders in a safe, insulated bag. I maintain professionalism because every person deserves the benefit of a kind first impression. And I want that fucking tip I want to maintain the best service as it is me.
​

But the trips eventually slow to a crawl. The rain brings that calling for comfort. My stomach aches for something warm. A warm ramen broth and some spicy chicken karaage. With a beer, perhaps a lager. In the light rainfall, with string bulbs emitting the streets with a warm light, I find that solace in meditating.
​

The outdoor seats are available, albeit wet, despite being covered by a tarp-made ceiling. Yes, the seats and table are wet. I grab some paper towels to wipe it down after I make my orde,r and then I think. I think about how much things have changed since I resigned from a Director-level position. How I’m now stocking produce, running courier deliveries and freelancing. I wonder how I could keep this pace for not just for myself but my wife and the house we made a home. It’s not about only me anymore. Hasn’t been for a while.
​

Then, the food arrives. The hunger immediately overrides my train of thought. That smell. There’s the savory, warm scent. It almost meshes with the crisp foley of the rain. There’s silence also. The music is kept inside, and the storm is keeping passersby away. Then, the taste. You taste that savoriness. The warmth brings you home, wrapped around the blanket of your beloved. The crunch of the chicken karaage as it sinks into your taste buds. You’ve had this warmth before, you realize. You’ve enjoyed the refresh that this beer provides. You realize the problems you’ve experienced before aren’t new. They’ve been repackaged and handed to you to appear new.
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Water drips from above, slightly splashing the items. The bao buns become sticky instead of soft. The broth is slightly watery, as is the beer. But it doesn’t matter. The taste and the moment to be alone where there is no chaos, is relief.
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Just as in the past, you found relief. And as you find relief, that stubbornness clears the fog from the mind. And again, you’re ready to push through the chaos, where you will eventually find relief and, within time, solace. Perhaps for the first time, or maybe as it once was before. Sometimes, that’s all anyone needs.

For the patient ones (or impatient if you scrolled all the way down to here)

​Check out this link for the Kindle Unlimited Finds of October 2025!​

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Until next time!
~Victor Vahl
​www.victorvahl.com​
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