SHORT STORIES

The silent treatment

The silence was deafening.

It barely registered in the background of their life, but when it did, it filled the room with a unique type of oppressive energy.

They had only managed to curb it so much.

Initially, there had been communication between them; arguments, raged in the night, silent conversations in their head.

They were walking on eggshells.

Then the silent treatment began.

At first it was a relief, a chance for them both to take the time to think, to cool down in the heat of the moment.

But as the days stretched on, the silence just felt more and more oppressive.

They no longer shared words, but they still shared glances.

He could still see the hurt in her eyes, and it only increased the tension.

To them, words seemed pointless.

Hardly anything had been said in the past weeks that hadn't ended up in an argument.

But, the silenc was threatening to tear them apart if they couldn't find a way around it.

It seemed like their entire relationship had boiled down to one thing: silence.

And it was starting to become unbearable.

Finally, one morning, he slowly reached out and took her hand.

He looked into her eyes, fighting back the tears, and said, 'I'm sorry,'

She looked away before finally turning back and locking her gaze in his.

Then, for the first time in days, they both managed to speak, regardless of whatever grudge, resentment, anger, hurt was still between them.

They talked for hours that morning, and while the issue was still unresolved, the tension had started to dissipate.

They had learned, albeit the hard way, that the silent treatment rarely solved anything, it only made things worse.

If anything, it had taught them the importance of communication.

From that day on, they would always think back to the days of the sad, silent treatment, and how it had almost robbed them of something they cherished; their relationship.