THE SILENCE AFTER THE FALL

I miss you—like a melody misses its rhythm, like pages miss the ink that once gave them meaning. 2025 was going to by my year but, the world feels quieter, not peaceful but paused, as if holding its breath in sorrow. I failed. Not just in some test or task I failed in all the ways that matter. I lost the courage I once wore like a second skin, the confidence that made me look life in the eye. I lost you, and somewhere in the wreckage, I lost the girl I used to be. I walk through days with my head lowered, unable to meet the gaze of those who raised me, ashamed to stand in front of love that once called me capable. And you— I avoid even the echo of your voice, for I know it would unravel me, I gave everything—my mind, my nights, my heart— yet luck passed me by like I was invisible. And now, I carry a silence so loud, it hums through my bones. I miss myself, and in this quiet despair, the only truth that remains is this: I failed. I failed in everything. by Harshni