A best friend who had helped me protect myself.
And I had learned something important about my own strength.
It was quiet.
It did not shout.
It did not need an audience.
Months later, Maya stopped by my desk.
“How are you?” she asked, and I knew she meant it.
“I’m doing well,” I said.
And for the first time, I truly meant it.
We never became close friends, but we became something honest: two women who had been handed the same lie and found the truth in different ways.
The office continued around us.
Phones rang.
Coffee brewed.
People typed.
Morning moved forward.
That is what no one tells you when your life breaks open.
It continues.
And eventually, so do you.
