Eventually, the energy shifted again—not back to control, but toward inevitability. The noise softened, not because emotions had settled, but because resistance had nowhere left to go.
They moved more quickly then, less performative, more practical. The final pieces were gathered. The last looks were cast around the room, searching for something—justification, maybe, or a reason to stay.
No one found it.
At the door, there was a pause. Not a reconciliation. Not even a proper goodbye. Just a moment where everything that had been said—and unsaid—hung between us without resolution.
