I used to add a sentence after every decision.
Just so people would understand.
Just so no one would think the wrong thing.
Just so the silence would not be filled with their version of the story.
—
The explanations were rarely asked for.
They were offered to keep the peace inside my own head.
—
When I stopped offering them, something shifted.
Some people asked.
Most did not.
The ones who needed the full story still received it when it mattered.
The rest simply adjusted to the shorter answer.
—
Not every choice needs a defense.
Some of them only need to be lived.
And the energy that used to go into explaining can go into the thing itself.
—
The quiet that follows is not always comfortable.
But it is cleaner.
