Letter #13

Dear _____,

Sitting here, pencil in hand, before a blank page… I don’t know where this is meant to go. I’m merely letting the words write themselves onto the paper and seeing what they turn out to be. Maybe nothing will come out of them, and that’s not so bad.

As I write, this sort of reminds me of those blank spaces in conversations, when two people have nothing more to say to one another. It’s not as if they’re intentionally refusing to speak or contribute to the conversation anymore, it’s just… the silence comes and it isn’t a bad thing. That silence allows you to be there in the moment and revel in your own stillness. Sometimes sharing that with another person can be comfortable, occupying a space together without any obligation or expectation to fill that emptiness. To simply be.

Maybe that’s what happens when we don’t know what to say or write to each other. There’s this gap that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because it can be filled with whatever you want. Something or nothing. Sometimes those empty silences only last a few seconds because we find whatever comes next, other times we let them hang to allow ourselves and whoever we’re with a chance to breathe. Both are necessary, I think. Because it’s in that silence where we can accept the moment we find ourselves in, no matter how long it lasts. It is glowing with possibility, shimmering with now that we sometimes lose track of. I don’t know.

I suppose this is to say that even if there are moments of silence between us – pauses where the ends of words linger and before new thoughts are brought into existence – please don’t see them as signs of me being bored or wanting to be elsewhere or forgetting about you. If anything, they are lapses of time where I’m simply comfortable being quiet. It’s the equivalent of being comfortable sitting with you in silence, enjoying our shared presence in a space that doesn’t need words. It’s just us spending time with the world. Together.

Originally written 11-08-2025

Accompanying music: Morning Sun by atmos bloom