Virgo

The quiet that follows someone's answer is not the same as the quiet that follows your question. You have learned to read the difference in the length of the pause, the way their eyes move, whether they reach for their phone or their cup. This kind of attention costs something, the way you keep measuring the spaces between what people say and what they mean. The silence that is not empty is the one where you are still listening, still sorting through what was offered and what was held back, long after the other person has moved on.