Seasons of Silence

Lila’s:

Seasons have come and gone, but he has never once looked at me the way I’ve hoped. I’ve watched the leaves fall, winter snow blanket the ground, flowers bloom, and sunlit afternoons pass—all with him at my side, yet never truly seeing me. I can’t count the days I’ve spent waiting for him to notice the things I never dare say. I don’t know if he realizes that every time I brush his hand, there’s a jolt of electricity that shakes me to my core. Or that when I laugh at his jokes, it’s not just because they’re funny, but because I love the way his eyes light up. I thought he’d see it, eventually, in the unspoken things—the way I listen, the way I remember every little detail, the way I show up, no matter what. But he doesn’t. Maybe he never will. It’s like I’m invisible, sealed away in this role I’ve played for so long: the constant friend, the one he can lean on but never lean toward. My love has been quiet, steady, like a river’s flow. But even rivers dry up eventually, don’t they? ________________________________________ Ethan’s:

Lila is like the turning of the seasons—a constant presence in my life that I can count on without question. She’s always been there, somehow slipping into the quiet parts of my day, the moments I’d otherwise spend alone. She listens when I talk about things no one else has time for. She remembers the little things I forget about myself. And yet, there’s something different about her lately. A look in her eyes, maybe? I can’t quite place it, but there’s this heaviness that wasn’t there before, as if she’s carrying something I can’t see. Sometimes I catch her looking at me a certain way—soft, lingering—but before I can ask, she’s already looking away. I wonder if I’ve missed something, a feeling maybe, or an unspoken part of her that she’s kept hidden. But I push the thought aside, convincing myself that maybe I’m imagining things. She’s my friend, my best friend, and the last thing I want to do is complicate things. So I bury the thought and let the seasons keep changing, sure she’ll always be there. ________________________________________ Author’sThe years slip by quietly, the seasons marking time as they both wait for something neither of them has the courage to say. Their lives move forward in tandem, as parallel lines never meant to meet. Lila, with her unspoken love, watches Ethan go through new beginnings, heartaches, and triumphs. She hopes with each passing season that he’ll finally see her, feel the love she keeps tucked away like a secret. She wants him to notice that her patience isn’t just kindness—it’s devotion. Ethan feels a nagging sense of something missing, but he never realizes what it is. He buries his own questions and doubts, blind to the love that has always been right before his eyes. He finds comfort in Lila’s presence but never dares to ask why she’s always there. And so, the seasons keep changing, the colors of their world shifting with each passing year. Unspoken words fill the space between them, a quiet ache of love that’s sealed, forgotten, buried under the weight of time. They stand beside each other, together but alone, each holding onto a love they’re too afraid to confess, waiting for the courage that may never come. ________________________________________ End. ________________________________________