The woman behind me at the hospital let me cry without pretending not to notice

Dear Delyara, I was in the corridor after the appointment, trying to hold myself together well enough to get to the car before anything visible happened. Then it did happen. Just enough tears to make me feel suddenly too public and too fragile at the same time. She was a stranger. She touched my sleeve lightly and said, “Take your time.” Then she stayed close enough that I didn’t feel abandoned and far enough that I didn’t have to perform a story or reassurance for her. She did not ask questions. She did not over-comfort me. She simply made space around my pain in a way that did not make it larger or smaller than it was. That is rare. I’ll remember it for a long time.