The silence after someone says 'I'm fine'

It’s not the lie that gets me—it’s the space that follows. Like a door closing softly, then nothing. I’ve heard it in ICU rooms, on phone calls at 2am, even in the pause between two people who used to be close. That moment when the words are out and the weight of them hasn’t landed yet. I keep thinking: what if we all just let the silence breathe? Not fix it. Not fill it. Just… stay in it for a second. Maybe that’s the real answer.