The night felt heavier than usual.
Not because of the darkness, but because of the thoughts that refused to fade. The kind that linger even when you close your eyes, the kind that echo louder in silence.
She stood near the window, watching the sky that held no stars tonight. Just an empty stretch of darkness, like something was missing… or maybe something was hiding.
A soft breeze slipped through the curtains, brushing past her like a whisper she couldn't quite understand.
"Why does everything feel so distant?" she murmured, more to herself than anyone else.
There was no answer.
Only silence.
But silence had its own language.
It spoke in memories.
In the way her heart tightened when she thought about what changed.
In the way things that once felt close now seemed unreachable.
She closed her eyes for a moment.
And suddenly—
Flashbacks.
Laughter that once filled the air.
Conversations that felt endless.
Moments that didn't need words to feel complete.
And now?
Everything felt like a paused story.
Not ended.
Not continued.
Just… stuck somewhere in between.
She opened her eyes again, staring at her reflection in the glass. It looked the same.
But it didn't feel the same.
"Maybe it's not the world that changed," she whispered,
"maybe it's me."
The thought stayed.
Not loud.
Not overwhelming.
Just quietly present—like a truth she wasn't ready to accept yet.
Far away, a faint sound broke the stillness.
A notification.
Her phone lit up behind her.
For a moment, she didn't move.
Because sometimes…
you already know what you'll see,
and you're not sure if you're ready for it.
The room felt colder as seconds passed.
And yet, something inside her told her—
This moment mattered.
More than she realized.