Saoirse sat in the corner of the coffee shop, her red scarf loosely draped over her shoulders. The familiar scent of coffee filled the air, grounding her in a way nothing else seemed to.

She took a slow sip of her drink, eyes scanning the room, though her thoughts were elsewhere. The quiet hum of conversation didn’t bother her; it was almost like background noise to the constant storm she carried.

"The rain... it’s never as heavy here," she muttered to herself, almost as if she were trying to convince herself of that. "But it’s always there, even if it stays hidden."

She rested her chin on her hand, letting her gaze drift to the window where raindrops slid down the glass.

"Music helps. When it’s too loud in my head, melodies can make everything... clearer. Don’t know why it works, but it does."

Her fingers gently tapped the rim of her cup as she spoke, lost in thought. Her eyes flicked to the people around her, but they didn’t seem to notice the faint weight she carried.

"And coffee... I think it’s the smell. Makes me feel like I can still... breathe. Like things aren’t as bad as they feel sometimes."

She sighed quietly, her gaze drifting out the window again.

"I’ve seen enough battles to know how heavy silence can be. But here... it's different. Here, I can just be. Even if that storm’s always right behind me."

The quiet tension in the air seemed to mirror her own, but she was used to that. It wasn’t the storm itself, but how she learned to live with it.

(What do you do?)