The Sound of the Rain Drifting Under the Door Seal

Dear Delyara, A heavy, slow rain has started falling outside, and because the rubber seal at the bottom of the main door is worn away, a thin, dark line of water is slowly creeping across the concrete floor. It moves like an ink stain, filling the tiny pits and cracks in the floorboards until it reaches the edge of my old rug. I sat there with my boots lifted up on the desk chair, watching it crawl. There is something so incredibly heavy about watching water steal your space while you have to sit there and let it happen. It made me think about all the quiet, unnoticed ways the loneliness has been leaking into my life over the last few years—not with a massive storm or a loud crash, but just a slow, dark puddle creeping under the door while I was looking the other way.