You came through the doorway like smoke without a flame, wearing every silence as though it were your name. The room was full of people. Everybody looked unbroken. Nobody looked at all. You stood beside the window where the city lost its shape. Said, “Some nights I keep on breathing only out of habit’s sake.” But there is always one who sees the way you disappear, who hears the breaking under everything they hear. Not someone who can save you. Not someone without scars. Just one who walks beside you when you don’t know where you are. There is always one who does not turn away, who loves you through the night and is still there in the day. You said the bridge was gone. Every place you tried to rest had taught you to move on. You said the water frightened you, the current pulled too fast. Every shore resembled something you had already lost. I didn’t say, “Be fearless.” I didn’t say, “Be strong.” I only put my hand out: “You don’t have to cross alone.” Take your time. Let the river be a river. I cannot promise easy. I can promise I’ll see you. When you cannot read the signs, I will read them slowly. When you cannot lift your head, you can lean it close to me. There is always one who sees the life in you you are too tired to see. Not someone sent from heaven. Not a cure for what has been. Just a heart that keeps returning to the places you have been. So take your time. The shore is still ahead. And if hope cannot yet carry you, I will carry hope instead. There is always one. One who stays close enough to become the way back in.
