It was never the silence that hurt her.
It was what lived inside it.
The unspoken.
Maya stood at the window again, arms folded, as if hugging herself was easier than reaching for someone who was no longer there.
The air outside was tinted with the golden hue of dusk, soft and deceitful—like memories she never asked to remember.
Behind her, the door creaked.
She didn't turn.
"You're back," came the voice. Familiar. Still raw.
She closed her eyes.
"Dira..."
He stepped closer, cautious, as if she might shatter if he breathed too loudly.
"You didn't return my texts," he said softly.
"You sent them too late," she replied, her voice a breath above the silence.
There was a pause.
"I came back... for you."
Maya finally turned. Her eyes were glossy but firm.
"Don't say that like it's enough."
Dira flinched, but he didn't argue. He just looked at her—like she was the answer to every question he'd been too afraid to ask.
"Do you remember," she whispered, "what you told me before you left?"
"I said I'd be back."
"No. Before that."
He hesitated. And that hesitation—God, it cut her deeper than any goodbye ever had.
"You said you didn't believe in staying," she continued, almost smiling. "You said people are like seasons. They come, they go, and they change."
Dira exhaled shakily. "I was wrong."
"No," she said. "You were honest. And honesty hurts more than lies, doesn't it?"
He took a step closer.
"I've changed."
Maya shook her head slowly. "But I haven't. Not enough to forget how it felt waking up without knowing if you were alive. Or if I ever meant anything to you."
"You did. You still do."
"Then why did you leave without saying goodbye?"
Silence again.
And in that silence, a thousand unsaid things screamed between them.
Dira ran a hand through his hair. "I thought it would be easier for you if I disappeared."
Maya let out a soft, bitter laugh. "You were wrong again."
He moved even closer now, until only inches separated them.
"You once told me," he murmured, "that love doesn't mean staying. It means choosing. Again and again."
"I did choose you," she said, almost trembling. "Even when you weren't here."
Dira's jaw clenched. His eyes were full of something that looked like regret—but deeper.
"I'm choosing you now."
"But I don't know if I still know how to believe you," she said, her voice cracking. "Because the truth is… I'm scared. Scared that if I open the door again, you'll leave before I can close it."
He looked down, then slowly reached for her hand.
"I can't promise I won't make mistakes," he said. "But I swear, I won't walk away again. Not unless you tell me to."
Her fingers twitched in his.
"Then stay," she whispered. "But this time, stay for the ugly parts too. Not just the love songs and sunsets."
"I'll stay for the storms," he said, lifting her hand to his lips, "and the silence between your tears."
And in that moment, as the sky outside turned darker and the world held its breath, Maya did the one thing she hadn't done in a long time.
She leaned into him.
And for the first time since forever, she allowed herself to believe.
---
She didn't realize she was crying until Dira reached out and touched her cheek.
His thumb brushed away a tear like it was something sacred.
"I hate that I hurt you," he said quietly.
She shook her head.
"No, you don't," she said. "If you did, you wouldn't have vanished. You wouldn't have let me spiral alone while pretending you did it for my sake."
Dira didn't argue this time.
He stood there, solid and flawed, and more human than he ever looked before.
"You deserved better," he murmured.
She looked up at him.
"I did," she said. "But I didn't want better. I wanted you. Even when it made no sense."
Something in his eyes faltered. Something broke.
"You always saw more in me than I ever gave you."
"Because I believed," she said. "Because I loved a version of you that maybe never even existed."
He took that blow silently.
And still… he didn't leave.
Instead, he sat down on the floor, right there in front of her window, legs crossed like a boy who had nowhere to go. And for once, he didn't try to fix anything. He just waited.
After a moment, she sat too.
Cross-legged across from him. A thousand years between them in a heartbeat.
"Why did you really come back?" she asked.
He answered without flinching.
"To remember who I was when I was with you. To see if there's still a chance to become him again."
She studied his face.
The tired lines. The scruff. The weariness in his eyes. The way he held himself like he'd been carrying something too heavy for too long.
"You didn't leave because of me, did you?"
"No," he said. "I left because I thought I'd ruin you if I stayed."
"And you didn't think disappearing would do that?"
He winced.
"I was a coward."
"No," she said. "You were human."
He looked up.
And for the first time, she let herself look back without flinching.
"You're not the only one who broke something," she whispered. "I broke too. Every time I waited for a message. Every time I told myself you were just busy. Every time I blamed myself for your silence."
"I wanted to call," he said. "A thousand times."
"Why didn't you?"
"Because I didn't know what to say that would make it okay."
She smiled. Not kindly. But not cruel either.
"There was nothing to say. You just had to show up."
"I'm here now."
"Yes. But people aren't books, Dira. You can't just pick up where you left off."
He reached out again. Not to touch her this time. Just to hold his palm up, inches from hers.
"Then maybe we start over."
She looked at his hand. At the space between them.
Then slowly, carefully, she placed her palm against his.
Warm. Hesitant.
Real.
"Start over," she repeated. "Like strangers?"
He shook his head.
"No. Like people who knew each other once, and are brave enough to try again."
She closed her eyes.
And for the first time, the past didn't pull her under.
---
They sat like that for a long time.
Saying nothing.
Breathing in the stillness.
Until Maya finally leaned back against the wall, arms wrapped around her knees.
"I met someone," she said, eyes straight ahead.
Dira froze.
But he didn't speak.
"He was kind," she continued. "He never made me guess what he felt. Never left me wondering if I was too much, or not enough."
Dira's jaw tightened.
"Do you love him?"
She turned to face him.
"I wanted to. Desperately."
"That's not an answer."
"No," she said. "It's the only answer that matters."
He swallowed hard.
"Is he still in your life?"
She hesitated.
Then nodded. "His name is Kayla."
A beat.
And then—
"Kayla's a guy?"
"Yes."
Another pause.
Dira looked down.
"I deserve this," he said.
She raised a brow.
"No. You don't. Love doesn't work like karma."
"Do you still see him?"
"Sometimes. Not as much lately."
He didn't ask more. He just sat there, taking it in.
Processing.
Hurting.
"I'm not here to fight him," he finally said. "But I'll fight for you, if that's what it takes."
She looked at him for a long moment.
"You still think love is a war?"
"No. But sometimes you have to show someone they're worth fighting for."
Her eyes softened. Just a little.
"Then show me," she said. "Don't tell me. Just… show me."
---
It was late when he finally stood up.
Maya walked him to the door.
Not because she wanted him to leave
But because she wasn't sure what would happen if he stayed.
He paused at the threshold.
"Can I see you tomorrow?" he asked.
She nodded.
"Maybe."
He smiled.
"'Maybe' is more than I deserve."
She didn't smile back.
But as she closed the door after him, her hand lingered on the handle.
And her heart…
Her heart whispered something her lips weren't ready to say.
Not yet.
But maybe—
Maybe soon.
---
---
The night felt longer than usual
And yet
Maya couldn't sleep
She kept walking in circles around the same memory
The way his eyes held regret without apology
The way his voice trembled like he was carrying the weight of something heavier than truth
The way her name sounded when he said it now—gentler
like it was something he wasn't sure he had the right to hold anymore
She lay on the couch
Half curled into herself
Phone in hand
Kayla had texted
"Did he come?"
She stared at the screen
Fingers hovering
Then typed
"Yes."
The reply came fast
"And?"
Maya blinked
Took a slow breath
Typed again
"He still knows how to make me cry."
There was no reply for a while
Then finally
"Do you want him to stay?"
Her throat tightened
And maybe she should've said no
Maybe she should've lied
Or hesitated
Or reasoned with her own pain
But she didn't
"I don't know"
She stared at those words
Felt the weight of them like a stone in her chest
She closed her eyes
And Kayla didn't press further
He knew her well enough to leave space when silence was louder than words
---
The next morning the sky was pale with thin clouds
She hadn't really slept
But she got up anyway
Wore something neutral
Pulled her hair up
Tried to convince herself it was just another day
She stepped out to get coffee
And found him there again
Sitting on the bench outside her building
Holding two cups
One in each hand
Like a peace offering he was afraid to extend
"You remembered how I like it" she said softly
Dira stood
Carefully handed her the cup
"Black no sugar no explanation"
She smiled
Not out of affection
But surprise
And a little sadness
"You used to hate how bitter it was"
"I still do" he admitted "but I figured if I'm trying again I should start with the hard parts"
They sat in silence again
People passed
Birds chirped above
But the quiet between them was louder than the city
"You didn't sleep" he said quietly
She didn't answer
"I didn't either" he added "I kept thinking about what you said
About the door"
She looked down at her cup
"I meant it"
"I know
But I want to be the kind of man who earns the right to knock on that door
Not just walk through it like it still belongs to me"
She looked at him now
Really looked
The man who once ran from her
Now sat here hoping for permission to try again
"What if I already changed the lock" she whispered
"Then I'll wait until you make a new key"
Her chest hurt
In that sharp quiet way longing often does
---
Later that day
Maya found herself standing outside Kayla's studio
She didn't call ahead
Just walked in
As if her feet knew something her mind hadn't caught up with
Kayla was painting
Headphones in
Barefoot on the cold wooden floor
Canvas stained with deep reds and shadows of midnight blue
He saw her before she spoke
Removed the headphones slowly
Eyes unreadable
"You came"
"I didn't know where else to go"
He didn't move
Didn't ask anything
She looked at his painting
"Is it new?"
"No
But it feels different now"
"Because of me?"
He shrugged
"You color things without realizing"
She walked closer
Eyes on the canvas
It was abstract
But somehow she saw herself in it
Or maybe just the way he saw her
Fragmented
But still whole
"I don't want to hurt you" she said
"Too late for that" he replied
Gently
Not with resentment
Just truth
"I still need time
To know where my heart belongs"
Kayla nodded
"I didn't ask you to choose
I just asked you not to disappear"
She turned to him now
Close enough to see the small flecks of gold in his dark brown eyes
"And if I do choose him?"
He smiled
And it broke something in her
"Then I'll let you go
But not quietly
I'll write about you in every brushstroke
And maybe one day you'll walk past a painting and recognize the way I loved you
Even if I'm no longer in the room"
She felt her chest twist
Tears almost rising
But she didn't cry
She walked closer
Pressed her forehead gently to his chest
And they stood like that
Not lovers
Not friends
But something in between
Something sacred
And temporary
---
That night
Maya didn't text either of them
She sat by her window
Listening to the wind
Holding the silence in her hands like something fragile
And wondering if sometimes
We're not meant to choose
Sometimes
We're just meant to feel
To ache
To be torn
To bleed in ways no one else sees
Because maybe
The greatest kind of love
Is the one we carry quietly
Not the loud forever
But the soft maybe
And maybe
Just maybe
That's enough
---