I am a screw.

I don't even have a name.

Just one tiny screw.

Of course, I was born in a factory.

I was placed in a box with countless others, waiting for the day someone would finally choose me.

There is nothing special about me.

I'm small.

I don't stand out.

No one ever praises a screw.

My father was the same.

My mother was too.

Ordinary screws that no one noticed.

My grandparents were no different.

One day, a young boy picked me up.

"Hmm..."

Apparently, I wasn't the one he needed.

Back into the box I went.

The next day, someone else picked me up.

"A little too long."

Back into the box again.

Over and over.

I wonder how much time passed.

Most of the screws around me had already been taken.

Mother...

Loneliness slowly wrapped itself around me.

Every day was the same.

The sun rose.

Night fell.

Quiet.

Peaceful.

The same ordinary days, repeated again and again.

Sometimes I found myself wondering...

Maybe no one will ever need me.

...

Then one day, a woman picked me up.

"There it is! This is the one!"

She smiled as she held me in her hand.

At last...

My time had come.

She tightened me into place.

Firmly.

To be honest,

it hurt a little.

But strangely,

even though it was painful,

I was happy.

Because I was there,

the door closed securely.

...

Many years have passed since then.

I don't even know how many.

No one knows my name.

Yet every day feels full of purpose.

Someone can live in peace.

Someone can work safely.

Because unnoticed little screws like us

are still here,

doing our job.

...

The woman who chose me goes to work every day.

She wakes up in the morning,

leaves the house,

and returns at night.

Sometimes I hear her sigh,

"I'm so tired..."

But she always sounds cheerful.

She works hard every single day.

Life doesn't seem easy for her,

yet somehow,

she also seems happy.

You can see it

in the gentle beauty of her profile.

Every night,

she drinks a cup of hot milk,

then leaves the room.

From far away,

I hear the soft click

of the door closing.

And with that quiet sound,

I know

another day has come to an end.