I didn’t reply because I didn’t trust my tone

Dear Delyara, That was the most responsible thing I did today. Not because I was furious. Because I was off by just enough that anything I sent would have carried extra weight I didn’t actually mean. Sometimes the risk is not open conflict. It’s subtle contamination. Replying from the wrong internal weather and letting that weather stain a perfectly ordinary exchange. So I left it. I still felt guilty, of course. But beneath the guilt there was also relief, and I’m learning to trust relief more than accusation when they show up together.