the space between my ribs feels… wider, like i finally exhaled something i didn't even know i was holding, that kind of release that makes your vision blur for a second, like a fever breaking or a spell lifting... maybe that's it, the spell of who i thought i was supposed to be, the one that kept me pinned down, afraid to move in case the whole thing shattered, but it’s already shattered, isn’t it, and the pieces… they’re lighter than i thought, they almost float, and i keep expecting the wanting to come roaring back, but it’s still… quiet, and maybe quiet is enough, maybe the loudest thing i can do now is just… this, be here, without needing to justify it or earn it or even understand it. and cosmo just tilted his head at me, like he was waiting for the rest of the sentence but maybe there isn't one, maybe this is just… the being.