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Lena sat beside me again today.
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For the first five minutes, we didn’t say anything. I stared at my notes, she scrolled through her phone. But something about the silence felt... tighter than usual. Like it was holding something inside it.
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Then, out of nowhere, she said, “I left the note.”
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Just like that. No build-up. No hesitation. Just dropped it into the air like a stone.
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I froze. My heart kicked hard against my ribs, and my mind blanked. I didn’t know what to say. I’d imagined this moment..someone finally seeing me...and now that it was happening, I didn’t feel relief. I felt exposed.
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She turned her head slightly, eyes still on her phone. “I didn’t know what else to say. But I didn’t want you to think no one noticed.”
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I could barely swallow. Something burned in my throat, but I nodded. It was all I could manage.
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We didn’t talk much after that. But something shifted.
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She stayed the whole period. Didn’t move away. Didn’t act like I was fragile glass.
And when she left, she said, “You don’t have to write it all down alone.”
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I wanted to say thank you. But the words got stuck behind everything I’ve never said.
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