I learned silence before I learned love .
In my house voices were loud , but warmth was rare.
People spoke around me , never to me .
So I grew up listening , watching, surviving quietly .
My name is sarani .
And for as long as I can remember , I have been strong in ways no one noticed.
As a child , I learned an important rule "
If you don't ask for much , you won't be disappointed.
So I stopping asking.
At school , I smiled enough to look normal.
At home , I stayed invisible enough to stay safe.
Nobody called it loneliness , but that what it was.
Why are you always so quiet ? My mother asked once
Not with concern
With irritation.
I didn't answer
I had already learned that explanations only made things worse.
My father believed silence meant obedience.
Good grades meant success .
Feeling were unnecessary .
So I hide mind.
I told myself love was a luxury .
Something meant for other people , people who were seen .
But no matter how careful you are
, hope has a way of finding cracks.
Late at night , when the house finally slept,
I scrolled through my phone not looking for someone , just looking for escape .
That's when I found a voice from far away .
China
A different language.
A different time zone.
A stranger who asks simple question and waited for honest answer.
He didn't rush me.
He didn't interrupt me.
He listened.
And for the first time ,
I felt something dangerous,
I felt seen,
I told myself it was nothing
Just words on a screen.
Just a harmless connection.
I didn't know then,
And this was the moment .
My pain learned new thing