Monotone Blue
They say the 52-hertz whale is the loneliest whale in the world; its voice echoes at a frequency no one else can understand.
Aureja thinks love might feel the same way.
For as long as she can remember, there has only ever been Apollo - Apollo with the easy smile, endless dreams, and a way of making life feel bigger than it really was. They grew up side by side, carrying years of almost-confessions and feelings that always seemed to arrive at the wrong time.
Somehow, despite everything, they never quite became them.
Now, with graduation drawing near and adulthood beginning to pull them in different directions, Aureja starts noticing the distance between them: the unfinished conversations, the carefully avoided truths, the way Apollo smiles like nothing has changed when everything already has.
And before either of them can finally say what they mean, Apollo is arranged to marry someone else.
Because maybe loneliness is not about having no one.
Maybe it's loving someone your whole life - and still never being truly heard.
Despite, despite, despite.