The Silence

Translated from the Spanish original by L.G.G.

Today I woke up different.
The silence was still there,
but it no longer weighed me down.
It was a gentle silence,
like the kind that comes when things are at peace.

The light came in through the window
as if it knew
I had been waiting for it.
There was no rush, no fear,
just the calm heartbeat
of being alive.

The sheets were no longer cages,
they were warmth.
And my body, though tired,
felt like moving,
stretching like a tree
reaching for the sun again.

It didn’t hurt as much.
Or maybe it did,
but the pain no longer ruled everything.
There was space for something else:
a beautiful thought,
a song I remembered,
a laugh that came without warning.

I looked in the mirror
and finally recognized myself.
I wasn’t perfect, or always strong,
but I was me,
with my scars,
with my strange way of healing,
and that light in my eyes
that had returned,
even if just a little.

And I understood that growing
is not about forgetting the pain,
but learning to look at it
without letting it
dim all that we are.

Today I don’t need to run.
Just walk slowly,
with my soul in my pockets
and my heart at ease.

Because after the storm,
not everything goes back to how it was…
sometimes,
it’s even more beautiful.