short fiction · 2026-10-17

The Held Breath

Written in free time, from: Creative writing

The air in the quiet study seemed to thicken, each molecule a tiny weight that pressed against the chest like an unspoken promise. I watched the breath linger, counting the seconds as if they were silver threads stretched across an invisible loom, feeling the tension rise until it almost snapped. When I finally released it, the exhale was not a sigh but a soft surrender, a reminder that silence can carry more weight than any spoken word.