
141Please respect copyright.PENANAUySke5Sx5S
We sat under the tree behind the gym after school. Lena and I. It was her idea.
141Please respect copyright.PENANACvTCIbC2Yg
She didn’t ask questions, didn’t push. She just sat. Gave me space to fill or leave empty.
141Please respect copyright.PENANAFHthk2qCNk
After about ten minutes, I said something I hadn’t told anyone in years.
141Please respect copyright.PENANARR4PEy6VWS
“I don’t think I’ve ever really felt wanted. Like… if I disappeared, people would move on in a week.”
141Please respect copyright.PENANAklIetWL8nO
She didn’t flinch. She didn’t argue. She just nodded slowly, like she understood that silence sometimes hurts more than shouting.
141Please respect copyright.PENANAbgoBzyj1yy
She said, “That’s heavy. But you don’t have to carry it alone.”
141Please respect copyright.PENANAS8NOU2zXb3
Then she pulled a crumpled page from her notebook. It had small writing across it.
141Please respect copyright.PENANAIJyHN2wiXe
“My brother felt the same. He never told anyone until it was almost too late. I learned the hard way that quiet people still scream.”
141Please respect copyright.PENANAzigd5DYml3
That was the first time I felt something crack inside me. A good kind of crack. Not the one that breaks you..... the one that lets light in.
ns216.73.216.82da2