The Sound of Silence
by Juliana Evangelista
Photo by Amina
Silence. It isn't so quiet, is it? No. Sometimes, it’s in the silent moments when my thoughts are the loudest. Where every insecurity steps forth. Every doubt. Every fear. It's in the dark. In the rumpled sheets of my bed. My eyes are heavy. Drooping. But sleep won’t come. Not in the dark hours of night. No. No, this is where the outside world shuts out. This is where I’m left alone with my thoughts. The thoughts that haunt my brain. The ones that take over my being. In the obnoxious, loud world, I am quiet. My brain will not utter a word of overanalysis. But, when the outside voices disappear, when it is my thoughts and mine alone, suddenly, the worries are made clear. And it is in those moments, where my thoughts run back to you. I think back to every word I may have said. Any action I had allegedly taken. If anything I could've done would’ve changed the outcome. If I had seen the text sooner. The cry for help. If I had known the signs. If I had just said that I loved you. Would it change a thing? Or would I still be forever stuck in your silence?
Juliana Evangelista’s “The Sound of Silence” received fifth place in the BCPW’s 2026 Flash Fiction Contest. Juliana attends St. Joseph Secondary School.