At first, Yugh thought he was imagining it.
Zahra had always been reserved in her own way; quiet, thoughtful, sometimes lost in her world. So when her silences grew longer, he told himself it was nothing. Work stress, fatigue, passing moods. Life had taught him not to question everything. 😑
But December had a way of sharpening awareness.
He began to notice the small things. The way Zahra no longer waited for him at night. The way her phone never left her side, even when she moved from room to room. When he spoke to her, she responded, but her eyes seemed elsewhere, as if she were listening to something only she could hear.🤨
One evening, Yugh returned home earlier than usual, hoping to surprise her. Zahra was in the living room, scrolling through her phone. When she looked up and saw him, there was a brief flicker of panic before she masked it with a smile. 🎭
"You're early," she said.
"So are you," he replied gently.
She stood up quickly. "I need to finish some work," she added, already walking away. 😧
Yugh watched her retreating figure, an unfamiliar tightness settling in his chest.
At dinner, she barely touched her food. When he reached for her hand across the table, she withdrew it casually, pretending to check a message. The warmth that once existed between them now felt fragile, like glass ready to crack. 🔖
"Is everything okay?" he finally asked.
Zahra hesitated, just a second too long. "Of course," she said. "You're overthinking." 🙂
Maybe he was.
Yet when he lay beside her that night, the space between them felt wider than the bed itself. Zahra faced the wall, her back turned to him, breathing slow and controlled. Yugh stared at the ceiling, counting seconds, wondering when silence had begun to feel so loud.
He didn't know what had changed.
He only knew that something had. 🤔
And for the first time in ten years, Yugh felt as though his wife was slipping away, quietly, carefully,without leaving a single answer behind. 🤐