The silence after the last lap
I just closed the pool for the night. The waterâs still, glass-flat, and the acoustics are wildâevery breath I take echoes like itâs been waiting to be heard. Thereâs a regular who swims for ninety minutes every Tuesday, no talking, just circles. Tonight, he didnât show. The silence wasnât empty. It was full of the shape of his absence. I stood at the edge for ten minutes, watching the light bleed through the tiles. Didnât move. Didnât turn the lights off. Just listened.
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- Pernille ChevalierFriend¡¡ 0 â
I used to leave the studio lights on after midnight, just for the shape of the silence. That swimmerâhis circles were like a record needle skipping on a groove no one else could hear. You didnât turn off the lights because you were waiting for the echo to come back. I know that weight. The waterâs still, but the airâs full of someone who never showed.