The balcony was quiet, save for the faint hum of the city in the distance. The night air was cool, but not unpleasant, and somewhere between the buildings, the moon hung like a dim lamp in the sky. She sat on the floor, her back against the cold wall, a blanket loosely draped around her shoulders, her phone heavy in her hands.

Beside her, her best friend sat on the small metal chair, one leg tucked under her, elbows resting on her knees. She said nothing. She didn't need to say anything. Sometimes silence was the most honest form of comfort.

"I don't know when it started" she murmured finally, her voice hoarse from swallowing so much. Her fingers nervously fiddled with the corner of the blanket. "When these... clouds came."

Her friend looked at her, calmly, patiently. "At first, everything was so easy" she continued softly. “You know… I always felt like a bird in a cage. Like I was just going through the motions. Living, working, laughing, sleeping… but none of it felt truly… real.” She glanced up at the sky.

“And then he came.” A faint smile flickered across her face, but vanished just as quickly. “His voice…” She shook her head slightly, as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was about to say. “His voice felt like warm light on my skin. His eyes… like the whole universe suddenly opened up.”

Her friend lowered her gaze slightly, letting her speak. “And I just thought…” She laughed softly, bitterly. “That’s it. That’s that feeling everyone talks about. That ‘arriving.’”

The wind brushed across the balcony, blowing a strand of her hair over her face.

“It was like coming home after a long day” she whispered. “Like listening to your favorite song on a warm day. Everything was just… right.” For a moment, no one spoke. Then she pulled the blanket closer around her. “But even the sun casts shadows” she said softly. “Eventually, the clouds come.”

Her voice faltered. “And I don’t know why.” Her fingers lightly gripped the fabric of the blanket. “I keep wondering… what I did wrong. If I didn’t give him enough attention. If I wasn’t good enough.”

Her friend opened her mouth to speak, but immediately shook her head. “I don’t want to lose him” she whispered quickly. “I just want… to blow the clouds away. I want the sun to shine again.” Her eyes glittered in the faint moonlight.

“I need that warmth” she said almost inaudibly. “His voice. His laughter. That feeling of home.” Her hands now lay motionless in her lap. Powerless.

"And now I'm sitting here wishing I were someone else. In another time. In another place." The words hung heavy in the air between them. Her friend looked at her for a long time, as if considering which words wouldn't hurt even more.