Some Things Become Quieter
When I was young, I thought heartbreak was something that happened once.
The big one.
The one that knocks the air out of you and changes the colour of everything for a while.
I thought if I could survive that, I’d be set for life.
Turns out life has other ideas.
The funny thing is that the next heartbreak hurts just as much.
You don’t become immune.
You still lie awake.
You still replay conversations.
You still wish things had gone differently.
The difference is something else.
The first time, I genuinely thought I might never get over it.
Years later, I met him again.
For a short while, our paths crossed once more.
And what surprised me wasn’t him.
It was the fact that the feeling was gone.
I still remembered everything.
But the feeling had packed its bags long before I realised it.
I’ve been thinking about that lately.
Not just about heartbreak.
About friendships.
About grief.
About people who are no longer here.
About the different versions of ourselves we leave behind along the way.
The memory remains.
The song is still the song.
The story hasn’t changed.
It just no longer takes up so much space.
Not every chapter needs to be revisited.
Not every question needs an answer.
Some things never leave.
They just stop asking for your attention.
Bettina Gosch
Rooted in Depth. Radiating Light.
Read also:
Midweek Return — When Grief Is Present
Nothing Needs an Answer Today