Pāhonoa te oro

The rain didn’t follow me this time. But her silence did. I walked down the empty road, each step slower than the last, like the world itself was dragging me back to what I had done. My thoughts wouldn’t stop. They kept circling… repeating her face, her voice, her eyes. “Why didn’t I just stop?” I …

The rain didn’t follow me this time. But her silence did. I walked down the empty road, each step slower than the last, like the world itself was dragging me back to what I had done. My thoughts wouldn’t stop. They kept circling… repeating her face, her voice, her eyes. “Why didn’t I just stop?” I whispered to myself. A car passed by, splashing water onto the road, but I didn’t move. Didn’t react. I just stood there for a moment, staring at nothing. Then I laughed. A small, broken laugh. Because