Chapter Thirteen: Healing Isn't Loud
Healing didn't arrive the way Feifei once imagined it would.
There was no sudden happiness.
No dramatic realization.
No moment where everything finally made sense.
Instead, it came quietly.
In small choices.
She started waking up earlier, not because she had to, but because she wanted time alone before the day began. She drank her tea slowly, letting the warmth settle in her chest. She wrote in her notebook without pressuring herself to sound deep or poetic.
Some days, the words didn't come at all.
And she let that be okay.
At school, people didn't notice the change. Feifei still sat by the window. Still spoke softly. Still kept to herself. But inside, she wasn't shrinking anymore.
She was expanding—carefully.
Kael remained a steady presence. Not constant, not consuming. Some days they talked for hours. Other days, they simply exchanged nods in the hallway.
And that was enough.
One afternoon, Feifei laughed.
It surprised her.
The sound felt unfamiliar in her throat, like a language she hadn't spoken in a long time. She paused afterward, hand resting lightly against her chest.
So this is what it feels like, she thought. Not happiness. Peace.
Later that evening, she caught her reflection in the mirror again.
This time, she didn't search for flaws.
Didn't ask if she was doing enough.
Didn't wonder if she was too much or not enough.
She just looked.
And for the first time, she didn't feel like she needed to disappear to survive.
Healing, she realized, wasn't loud.
It was gentle.
And it was hers.