The One Who Stayed The quiet

Not every silence is distance; some are comfort.

They sat together sometimes without speaking. Before, silence had been his fortress, his weapon against the world. But with her, silence wasn’t heavy. It wasn’t lonely. It was soft, like a pause in music. He began to see that not every quiet moment meant absence. Some meant understanding.

He had always thought silence meant loneliness. It was the weight that pressed on him at night, the echo in empty spaces, the ache between broken conversations. Silence was his fortress—cold, unyielding, protective.

But sitting beside her, he learned it could be different

They were on the college steps again, waiting for the rain to stop. The world was hushed—the steady patter of droplets on the roof, the smell of wet earth rising with the breeze. She sat a few feet away, knees pulled to her chest, sketching absentmindedly in her notebook.

Neither of them spoke.

And yet… it wasn’t heavy. It wasn’t suffocating.

For once, silence didn’t feel like something to endure. It felt like something to share.

Thakshan 🖤

After a while, he said quietly, “You don’t mind this, do you?

shiny ✨

She glanced up. “Mind what?”

Thakshan 🖤

“Me not… talking.” He shifted awkwardly, staring at the rain. “Most people hate it.”

shiny ✨

She smiled faintly, closing her notebook. “Most people don’t understand it. But silence doesn’t scare me.”

Thakshan 🖤

He frowned. “Why not?”

shiny ✨

“Because silence doesn’t always mean absence,” she said softly. “Sometimes it means comfort. Sometimes it just means… peace.”

Her words sank into him like water into dry soil. He’d never thought of silence that way before.

They sat there until the rain slowed, neither speaking, and for the first time in years, his chest didn’t ache in the quiet. It felt… steady. Like he wasn’t carrying it alone anymore.

Thakshan 🖤

When they finally stood to leave, he muttered almost under his breath, “Thanks.”

shiny ✨

She didn’t ask what for. She just smiled.

And he realized then—silence wasn’t his enemy anymore. Not when she was beside him.