This is a stand-alone short story, unrelated to Love Makes Old New. A woman is an unintended participant in a tragedy. As she meanders along a fateful path, she finds a way to forgive herself.

This story was inspired by this article from BrainPickings.org: Paul Goodman on the Nine Kinds of Silence. The impact of words is quite clear, where they come from and what they might say about us… but what happens when we don’t use them at all?

Content warnings: car colliding with bike (but no intense sound effects), partner violence as theme of a dance (no sound effects except music)