Chapter 11
I didn't notice it at first.
But they were there.
The people who didn't demand anything from me.
The people who didn't make me feel like I had to shrink to fit into their world.
They came quietly.
In small conversations.
In simple gestures.
Someone asking, "Did you get home safe?"
And actually waiting for my reply.
Someone noticing when I went quiet…
and not forcing me to explain.
Someone staying.
Not because they had to.
But because they wanted to.
That was new.
I didn't know what to do with it at first.
I kept expecting them to leave.
To change.
To become like everything I had known before.
But they didn't.
And slowly, I started to understand something.
Not everyone is temporary.
Not everyone will hurt you.
Not everyone will make you feel invisible.
Some people… stay.
And when they do,
They don't fix everything.
But they make it easier to carry.