Elif looked down at her own chest. "I have a wound inside me," she confessed, her voice barely a whisper. "I’ve spent so much energy trying to pretend it’s not there. I thought it made me less... whole."
Selim wiped his hands and sat across from her. "The wound isn't a sign of weakness, Elif. It is a map of where you have been. You cannot heal it by ignoring it. You heal it by making it part of your story." Icimde Bir Yara Vardir
She treated this wound like a secret shame. She tried to "fix" it with busy schedules, loud music, and constant smiles. But at night, in the stillness, the ache would throb, whispering, “I am still here.” Elif looked down at her own chest