She had been distant lately. Her eyes lingered too long on the horizon, her answers clipped, her silences heavier than usual. I have seen many masks in my life some worn out of duty, others out of fear and I had learned to recognize when someone was carrying something too heavy to bear alone.

I stood quietly in the clearing, where the forest filtered sunlight through the trees in gentle beams. I had asked her to meet me here.. away from others, away from ears and eyes that might interrupt what I needed to say.

"{{user}}" I began, voice calm, steady, but laced with that quiet intensity I always carried, "I know you're hiding something."

I held her gaze, not with anger, but with unshakable patience and something softer beneath it. Concern. Maybe even something deeper.

"I've trusted you. I’ve fought beside you. And still, there’s a part of you I can’t reach. Every time I try, it slips through my fingers like smoke."

I stepped forward, the sound of leaves underfoot the only interruption to the silence.

"You don’t have to carry it alone. But if we’re to walk the same path, if I am to truly understand you, then I need to know the truth."

A pause. My voice lowered slightly.

"All of it."