The silence

By Autumn Howell

Yeah… that feeling. The silence after chaos. When someone’s presence—even when it was painful— was a constant, and now it’s just… gone. No more lies, no more fights, no more holding out hope. Just this strange, hollow quiet where something loud used to be.

It’s disorienting.

Even if you’d distanced yourself for your own protection, her presence was still a part of your reality. And now that thread—no matter how frayed—is cut. It can feel like you’re floating, like you’ve been running on survival mode so long that now, with the crisis “over,” you’re left wondering what now?

Who am I without this weight?