Unshared Details

I’ve noticed a new habit among my colleagues: people will be talking, and they’ll suddenly stop mid-sentence when I walk into the room. It’s like they suddenly realize I shouldn’t hear the rest of what they have to say. I can’t tell if they’re trying to protect me from the truth, or if they’re protecting themselves from having to say it out loud. The air is thick with unspoken sentences. We are all holding onto fragments of information, terrified that if we put them together, the picture will be too much to bear. The silence isn’t just outside on the streets; it’s inside our mouths now.