Chapter 2-THE THINGS I NEVER SAY OUT LOUD
479 Words
They called it a journal.
Tara called it her soft place to land.
A worn-out, navy blue notebook tucked beneath her mattress, pages full of everything she never had the courage or permission to say.
Letters she never sent. Feelings she couldn’t explain.
And lately, names she wasn’t supposed to write.
Like Tyler.
"Dear you,"
I don’t even know why I’m writing this.
You’re just some boy I barely know. A stranger who sat beside me like the silence between us wasn’t strange at all. And maybe that’s what caught me off guard, how comfortable it felt not having to perform.
You didn’t ask me to be nice. Or useful. Or helpful. You didn’t ask me for anything.
You just… sat there.
And I didn’t even realize how loud my world was until you made it quiet. "
She paused.
That was too much.
She flipped the page and didn’t sign it. She never did.
That way, the words could float freely untied to pride or fear.
At school the next day, Tara kept her head down. Part of her hoped he wouldn’t find her again.
Another part… kind of wished he would.
And just after lunch, beneath the same almond tree, he did.
Same spot. Same space between them.
No pressure. No demands. Just the soft sound of breeze and books opening.
Tyler pulled out a paperback novel , The Book Thief.
She smiled.
“You read?”
He raised a brow. “What else is there to do while everyone’s trying too hard to be heard?”
Touching.
She sat beside him without a word.
Unwrapped her biscuit roll. Offered him one.
He took it.
She didn’t realize it at first, but her hand had stopped shaking.
That night, her journal was already open before she even touched it.
"Dear you,"
Today you came back. You didn’t have to. I don’t know what this is, but I know what it’s not , it’s not heavy.
You didn’t talk much again. But when you did, it felt like something worth listening to. Like silence with meaning.
Do you know what that feels like?
To sit next to someone and not feel like you have to earn your space?
To not feel like you're on the edge of being too much or not enough?
You probably don’t. But I hope one day I get to ask you"
Her handwriting got smaller when she was afraid of her words.
And on that page, the ink leaned close to the margin
like a girl trying not to be seen even on paper.
At school the next day, Tyler greeted her with a smile.
Just a soft, real one.
Like he was saying, I see you.
And for the first time in a long time, Tara wondered what it might feel like to be loved without having to bleed for it first.
- Writer
