Frederick

She never told anyone she liked him. Not her friends, not even herself out loud. It was easier to pretend it was just friendship, just laughs in the school hallway, just silly conversations after class. That day, she walked through the courtyard and stopped unintentionally. She saw the two of them near the wall: him, who was her lifelong friend, and the other girl. Her voice trembled as she spoke. She couldn't hear everything, but she could understand enough. A shy smile. A step closer. A declaration. Her heart sank before she even knew the answer. She didn't stay to hear the rest. She turned her back quickly, as if nothing had happened, as if it hadn't hurt. At school, she kept walking, she answered when people spoke to her, but inside everything was confused. She never said what she felt. And now it seemed too late. At home, the silence was overwhelming. She changed her clothes without thinking much and went to the pool. The water was cold, but it didn't bother her. She slowly lowered herself until she reached the bottom and sat leaning against the wall. There, he pulled his legs against his chest and hugged them tightly. As if I were holding back all the words I never said. All the "what ifs." All the sadness that had no place anywhere else. Underwater, no one could see her face. No one knew she was sad about something she never had the courage to confess. The pool became the only place where she could feel everything without explaining anything. She stood there for a few moments, keeping her feelings to herself, letting the pain exist in silence. Not because I wanted to disappear, but because I needed a place where my heart could rest from what wasn't.