Chapter 38 - When Stillness Meets Stillness

Chapter 38: When Stillness Meets Stillness

Hana didn’t expect the message.

Not from Isabelle.

They had exchanged pleasantries before. Sat beside each other at gatherings. Smiled across tables. But never spoke — not deeply.

So when the text came, it surprised her.

Hi Hana. Hope it’s okay if I ask something… odd.

Hana, ever soft-spoken even in texts, replied:

Of course. Odd questions are usually the most honest ones.

A pause. Then:

How do you know if a relationship is steady… or if it’s just too quiet?

They met the next evening — not at a cafe, not at a loud dinner.

Just a slow walk around Upper Thomson.
No agenda. No need to fill the silence.

Isabelle wore a soft cardigan, sleeves pulled slightly over her hands. Hana carried a thermos of warm tea — one extra cup packed, without even asking.

After ten minutes of just walking, Isabelle finally spoke.

“My boyfriend is amazing,” she said, almost defensively.

Hana smiled. “I believe you.”

“And we don’t fight. We understand each other. We hold space. It’s… calm.”

“And that scares you?”

Isabelle let out a breath.

“Not scares. But it’s starting to feel like… nothing moves. And I don’t know if that’s peace, or if we’re just paused.”

Hana didn’t answer right away.

Then she said, “Still water can be safe. But it can also hide stagnancy.”

Isabelle blinked.

“You’re allowed to ask for ripple,” Hana continued. “You’re allowed to want engagement. Not chaos, but… presence.”

Isabelle nodded slowly. “Sometimes I feel like we’re so good at understanding each other, we’ve stopped discovering each other.”

Hana let the words settle.

Then gently: “Do you talk about the future?”

“Not deeply,” Isabelle admitted. “We talk about logistics. Rent. Savings. But not… who we’re becoming.”

“Maybe it’s time to ask,” Hana said. “Not for answers. But to see if he’s still curious about your becoming.”

Isabelle looked down, thoughtful. “I think I needed permission to want more.”

Hana offered the spare cup of tea. “You never needed permission. But I’m glad you asked.”

They didn’t solve anything that night.

But when Isabelle got home, she stared at her ceiling and finally messaged him:

Do you think we’ve stopped asking each other new questions?

His reply came a few minutes later.

Maybe. Want to start again?

Her eyes welled. Not from sadness. But from release.

She messaged Hana the next morning:

Thank you for giving me space to voice the things I didn’t know how to ask out loud.

Hana replied:

Thank you for letting me walk with you through the quiet.

And in Hana’s journal:

Stillness is not silence.
It’s a language. A way of listening.
And sometimes, the softest people just need someone who can hear past the calm — and still choose to stay.