Tanz finally pulled into his driveway, but he didn't get out of the car.
He sat in the engine's dying hum, haunted by a specific incident from their school days. It was Sports Day. Spinelia was frantic; her grandmother was in the hospital, and her little sister was at home making a fuss with no one to watch her.
Anxious and trembling, Spinelia had begged Malina to help her explain the situation to the teacher so she could go home.
But Malina hadn't been a shield that day. She was disappointed because she wanted Spinelia to stay by her side. When Spinelia left anyway, Malina didn't just let her go—she started bad-mouthing her to anyone who would listen.
Tanz remembered hearing the harsh words and stepping in, telling Malina not to be so cruel since Spinelia was truly needed at home.
Malina's friends had turned like a pack of wolves. They didn't dare hate Tanz, but they poured all their venom onto Spinelia.
They blamed her for every mistake that happened after that day, isolating her until she was an island.
That was the moment her severe social anxiety took root, a quiet poison she tried to shrug off because her mom and Safi told her it was just "normal".
Tanz realized now that what they called normal was actually Spinelia slowly drowning while he watched from the shore.
Tanz walked into his house, the silence feeling like a physical weight. He didn't turn on the lights. He just sat on the couch in the dim glow of the afternoon and picked up the small velvet box. Inside, the rose design ring shimmered—delicate gold petals holding a clear diamond and a deep, pulsing spinel.
He had bought it because it reminded him of her: beautiful, complex, and resilient.
But now, holding it felt like holding a piece of broken glass.
He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, the memories of high school flooding in.
He remembered the spirals.
Spinelia wouldn't cut or bruise herself like other kids did. Instead, she would try to suffocate herself, holding her breath or burying her face in a pillow until she couldn't breathe, terrified that she was a disappointment, convinced that the whole world hated her. Because there were no scars, no one noticed.
Then there was Malina. Malina had harmed herself once, leaving a physical scar that everyone could see. The school, the friends, even Spinelia herself had rallied around Malina, drowning her in care and worry.
But when Spinelia was drowning in her own mind, the room was always empty. Except for him.
He could still hear Spinelia's voice, small and broken, whispering to him:
"I'm so jealous of her, Tanz. I'm jealous that people care when she hurts."