his tiny fingers grasped mine
no words, no sound
yet he filled all the silence in me

Navya sat in the corner of the boutique’s underground parking lot, sitting on the bench, knees drawn up as her dupatta fluttered ever so slightly in the breeze. Her eyes were blank, staring at nothing, still reeling from the bitter words exchanged at home that morning. The kind that leave invisible bruises. The kind that weigh heavy.