For a long while, neither of Ariana nor Sheila said a word.
The silence in the room settled into something heavy but not entirely uncomfortable. It was the kind of quiet that came when two people shared the same space but weren't yet ready to disturb the fragile balance of the moment.
Ariana sat with the glass of water resting loosely between her hands, her fingers wrapped gently around the cool surface. She hadn't taken a sip yet. Instead, her eyes drifted slowly around the room, taking in small details she had never really noticed before during her countless visits here.
The room felt… different today.
Not physically. Everything was where it always had been. Sheila's neatly arranged desk, the small stack of books near the wall, the folded blanket resting near the foot of her bed. Yet the air in the room carried a certain stillness that hadn't been there before, like the space itself had been holding its breath for hours.
