Between the distance

I remember the night I heard her cry.It wasn’t the kind of cry that begged for attention — no. It was the sound of someone trying not to make a sound. Muffled. Strangled. Hidden behind a thin wall, but it pierced through like thunder. My mother. My anchor. The one who never left. I lay in the dark, eyes wide open, frozen with guilt. She had seen me cry about you. And then I heard her crying about you too.I hated that night. I hated that sound.I was only a child, but I made a decision:I had to be strong. For her. Because she stayed.That’s how the distance began.I remember the night I heard her cry.It wasn’t the kind of cry that begged for attention — no. It was the sound of someone trying not to make a sound. Muffled. Strangled. Hidden behind a thin wall, but it pierced through like thunder. My mother. My anchor. The one who never left. I lay in the dark, eyes wide open, frozen with guilt. She had seen me cry about you. And then I heard her crying about you too.I hated that night. I hated that sound.I was only a child, but I made a decision:I had to be strong. For her. Because she stayed.That’s how the distance began.