Sunday Short: Sure, No Problem!

You know those people who just can’t say no? Like, ever? That’s Azlan.

Want help moving your entire house in the middle of a thunderstorm?

“Sure, no problem!”

Need someone to be your emergency wedding date so your nosy aunties stop asking questions?

“Of course, anything for you!”

Want to borrow money to start your organic durian candle business even though your last three businesses failed?

“You know I’ve got your back!”

Azlan was the human equivalent of bubble tea—sweet, dependable, and always available when you needed a fix. Born and raised in the quiet town of Tapah, Perak, Azlan had mastered the art of being liked. At 29, he was the kind of guy everyone loved but nobody really knew. Even his cat, Sambal, had a stronger personality than him.

But lately… things had started to shift.

See, Azlan had a tiny problem. He didn’t just not know how to say “no”—he physically couldn’t. Like, something inside him froze whenever rejection was required. So instead of saying it, he did something else.

He made people disappear.

No, not like “unfollowed on Instagram” disappear. We’re talking “completely vanished from the face of the Earth” kind of disappear.

It started small. Harmless, even.

There was his ex-colleague, Hafiz, who used to dump all his work on Azlan’s desk then stroll out at 4 PM sharp for his daily kopi peng. Azlan never complained. Never pushed back. Until one day, during yet another late-night overtime, he muttered under his breath, “I wish you’d just… go away.”

And Hafiz did.

Literally.

No one at the office ever saw him again. HR thought he ghosted the company. His mom said he never came home. Police reports were filed. But Azlan… he just smiled, nodded along with the speculation, and pretended he was shocked. Inside, though, he was terrified—and slightly relieved.

Then came Melissa. Beautiful, loud-laughing, dream-board-making Melissa. She wasn’t a bad girlfriend. She just… talked a lot. About manifesting, about their “twin flame energy,” about his “Aquarius moon”—which apparently meant he had commitment issues. Azlan didn’t disagree. He just couldn’t say it.

So one night, while she was giving a TED Talk about their spiritual alignment at a mamak stall in Puchong, he thought it again.

“I just want out. Please, disappear.”

The next day, Melissa was gone. Her crystals left behind, vibrating ominously.

That’s when it clicked.

It wasn’t a coincidence. It was him. Somehow, when he couldn’t say no, reality said it for him.

He tried to be careful after that. Avoid thinking those thoughts. Learn boundaries. Say “no” softly.

But old habits die hard.

Especially when his new housemate, Naim, started throwing wild parties every weekend, inviting noisy TikTok influencers and drunk uncles who danced to dangdut remixes till 3AM.

Azlan tried. Really, he did.

He bought earplugs. Baked cookies to keep the peace. Left notes. Smiled through it all.

Until one night, sleep-deprived and twitching, he stared at Naim dancing shirtless on their living room table and whispered, “You know what? I’m done.”

Poof.

Gone.

Just like that.

No mess. No blood. No evidence. Just a quiet, empty room and the lingering scent of Axe body spray.

Now, every time Azlan hears someone say, “Eh bro, can help me with—” his eye twitches.

He’s tired. Lonely. And scared of himself.

Because now he doesn’t just fear rejection… he fears what happens when he wants it.

And as the town gets quieter… and his circle smaller… he wonders:

What’s scarier? Being disliked—or being the reason no one is left to like you?

To be continued...