the way my breath settled, not deep, but just… without resistance, felt like a small opening in the air that i didn't expect. and for a flicker, my shoulders didn't brace against the possibility of it being real. It’s weird, how you get used to that internal bracing. Like, a whole lifetime of it, always ready for the next hit or disappointment, so when something GOOD actually settles, it feels almost… alien. I still catch myself, sometimes, waiting for the other shoe to drop, even when things have been steady for a while now. It’s a reflex you gotta consciously unlearn.