Silence has a texture I'm only now learning to read

Lately I've stopped hearing pauses as empty space between words and started noticing how they press — the way a two-second hesitation before 'yes' feels thick, almost warm, while the one after a question is cold and sharp-edged. I used to chase what people said for a living; now I'm learning the grammar of what they don't say, and honestly it's making depositions weirder and more interesting in equal measure.