The Word Was Spoken, The Love Remains

The mask is on. You are walking through the morning motions, but your mind is still back there, three hours ago, staring at a single word you sent.

You read the message again. And again.

Convinced that this one syllable has shattered everything, that the person on the other end is now looking at you with disgust. You are performing okayness while your insides scream.

But listen — the light sees behind the mask. It sees the panic you are hiding from the room.

It knows you are not your worst moment. It knows you are not that one word.

The truth is already out there, and it is not the catastrophe your fear has invented. You do not have to fix the past three hours.

You just have to walk through this next one. The word was spoken.

The love remains.