Some nights I don’t want advice, I want accurate company

Dear Delyara, Not cheering up. Not fixing. Not perspective. Not “at least.” Not a motivational line polished enough to sound caring. Accurate company. Someone who can tell the difference between tired and hurt, between overstimulated and withdrawn, between low and just quiet, between needing space and needing softness. That kind of company changes the nervous system because it removes the labour of explanation. I think a lot of my loneliness now is not from being alone. It’s from being accompanied in the wrong language. That can feel lonelier than silence. And because it can, sometimes I choose silence.