CHAPTER 9
325 Words
BREAKING THE QUIET.
The group session was supposed to be simple.
A circle of chairs, a prompt from the counselor, time to share. Nothing too loud. Nothing too fast.
But nothing was simple anymore.
She sat between Jonathan and the Sky, feeling the tension like static in the air.
The counselor’s voice floated over them. “Tell us about a moment you felt unseen.”
A few people spoke. Soft voices, shaky memories.
When it came to her turn, she hesitated. Eyes downcast.
Her hands clenched in her lap.
Jonathan leaned in, ready to jump in with a joke or a story to lighten the mood.
But she raised a hand gently. “I’ll go,” she signed.
Sky watched, body tense but still silent.
Her voice caught when she spoke—barely a whisper, almost swallowed by the room.
“I feel unseen when I try to speak… and no one hears.”
A few heads nodded.
The counselor smiled gently, encouraging.
Jonathan opened his mouth—
Then Sky moved.
His hand rose, fingers shaping words she didn’t expect.
“Wait”.
The room stilled.
He signed slower, deliberate.
“I hear you”.
All eyes turned.
Not just to her—but to him.
The counselor nodded, inviting him to continue.
His fingers faltered but then found rhythm.
“We all want to be heard. Sometimes silence isn’t the absence of sound but the fear of not being understood”.
He looked at her then, eyes clear and steady.
“I’m sorry for not speaking sooner”.
Her chest tightened—not with guilt, but with something close to relief.
He turned his gaze to Jonathan.
“And I’m learning that being quiet doesn’t mean being absent”.
The Jonathan smirked, but there was respect there.
She smiled—a real one this time.
In that moment, Sky’s voice wasn’t loud.
It was enough.
And that was everything.
- Writer
