(Esther's Point of View)
The door closed behind Matthew with a sound that seemed to echo inside my chest. It was the sound of finality, of something slipping away. I stood there, frozen, unable to move. My fingers still curled as though they were holding his hand, but he was already gone. The officers didn’t look back. They didn’t need to. They had taken him. And with him, the fragile calm we had been clinging to for so long.
I didn’t cry. Not yet.
The silence was almost unbearable. I remained in place, my feet rooted to the ground, as if if I stayed still enough, the world would stop spinning. But the reality was that the world was moving forward, and I wasn’t sure if I could keep up.
I slowly walked to the couch and sat down. My knees felt weak, my body trembling, but I couldn’t figu
