Shelyn walked through the front door of her house, her heart heavy with the weight of her day. The comfort of home, with its familiar scent and soft light, failed to lift the burden that sat on her chest. She found her mother in the kitchen, humming softly as she prepared dinner.
"Mom, can I talk to you for a minute?" Shelyn's voice trembled slightly, but she tried to stay composed.
Her mother turned, concern flickering in her eyes. "Of course, honey. What is it?"
Shelyn took a deep breath and told her mother everything about the cruel words whispered behind her back, the mocking glances, and the way she felt like she was being suffocated by the constant bullying at school. She hoped, prayed, that her mother would offer some comfort, a solution, anything to make it all stop.
But after a moment of silence, her mother simply sighed and said, "Just ignore them, Shelyn. You'll be fine. Don't think too much about what they say."
Shelyn's heart sank. She had hoped for more. "I wish she would understand how I feel", Shelyn thought, but she didn't say it out loud. Her mother's words felt like a dismissal, an erasure of her pain.
Her mother continued, her voice quieter this time. "If your father finds out about this, it'll only cause trouble for us. He won't handle it well, you know that. Let's just keep this matter aside, okay?"
Shelyn nodded, though she felt an ache deep in her chest. She wanted to scream, to protest, but she stayed silent. What else could she do? Her brother was abroad, too far away to help, and she didn't want to burden him with something he couldn't fix. There was no one left to tell. She couldn't bear to speak to her teachers, knowing too well what the outcome would be. The fear of drawing more attention to herself paralyzed her, making her feel even more trapped.
Later that night, she retreated to her room, where the walls seemed to close in on her. The quiet of the house contrasted sharply with the chaos in her mind. She sat on her bed, hugging her knees to her chest, and the tears she had been holding back all day finally spilled over.
She cried, replaying the moments of cruelty in her head the sharp words, the laughter that echoed in the school hallways. It all felt too much, like she was drowning in a sea of indifference. But despite everything, Shelyn made a decision.
"I'll keep silent", she thought. "I'll trust that Mom is right, and maybe my friends will help me through this."
But deep down, as the night stretched on and her tears dried on her pillow, Shelyn wondered how much longer she could endure the silence.
As Shelyn lay curled up on her bed, tears streaming down her face, her phone buzzed on the nightstand. For a moment, she ignored it, assuming it was just another notification that didn't matter. But something tugged at her, and she reached for it, wiping her face before glancing at the screen.
It was a text from one of her friends:
"Hey Shelyn, are you okay? You seemed off today."
She stared at the message, feeling a mix of emotions. Part of her wanted to ignore it, to bury everything like her mother had suggested. But she couldn't hold it in anymore. Her fingers moved quickly over the keyboard.
"No. I'm not okay."
There was a pause as she hesitated, then she continued typing.
"Why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you tell them to stop?"
The response came almost immediately, as if her friend had been waiting.
"I'm so sorry, Shelyn. I wanted to, I really did. But I was scared too. I didn't know what to do. I was sad for you... I just didn't know how to help."
Shelyn's chest tightened, but this time it wasn't from the pain. It was from the unexpected relief that came from knowing someone cared. Her friend's fear didn't erase the hurt, but it eased the loneliness that had gripped her all day. Shelyn had felt so isolated, but in that moment, she realized she wasn't entirely alone.
A tear fell onto her phone screen, but this one wasn't out of sorrow. It was from the small flicker of hope that, perhaps, things could change if not right away, then eventually.