Your Presence Is Present Enough Novels & Stories

He lets out a soft, humorless breath. “But now…” he pauses, his hands tightening together slightly, “…now I get it.” I glance at him, my expression softening. He leans back slightly, his head tilting as he looks up at the ceiling for a second before closing his eyes briefly. “Presence matters,” he says quietly. “Being there… actually being there… it’s not something you can replace.” Silence lingers. Then he turns his head slightly toward me, his gaze softer now, but heavy with something deeper.

Always present. ---

"Is that a thing? Is that something you become?" He thought about it honestly. "I don't know if ready is the right word," he said. "I think the word is — present. I'm present to it. I've been present to it for a long time." He looked at her. "I'm not in a hurry. I want more time. I will always want more time." He paused. "But I'm not in fear of it. I'm in the middle of something real and I know it's real and I'm here for all of it."

She kept drawing. "I came to apologise," he said. She waited. "The gifts. The dinner. The sponsorship." He paused. "I thought if I could just be present enough, consistently enough, you'd start to see that I was trying. I kept choosing the wrong measure of trying." She looked up from the drawing. "You were measuring in volume. Presence isn't volume." "I know that now."

she said without hesitation. That should’ve been enough. But I still asked, “How?” She observed me, like she was choosing her words carefully. “You’re not waiting for something to fall apart,” she said. “You’re just… here. Being present. I love it.” I let those words settle because she was right. And I hadn’t even noticed when it changed. My hand lifted, resting against her shoulder before sliding down to intertwine our fingers. “Me too. I think I got tired of fighting things that weren’t trying to leave,” I admitted.

I stared out the window at the endless traffic and said softly, “Someone left me here.” In the past, getting left behind would’ve shattered me. I would’ve screamed, cried, and lost control, but now I just felt calm. Not long after I got in the car, Paris posted in the group chat. [My stomach hurts so much, and I'm out of painkillers. What should I do?] James replied instantly. [Don’t worry. I’ll be there in five minutes.] I smiled to myself. Honestly, if those two didn’t end up together again, it’d be a disservice to everyone watching from the sidelines.

--- Not promise. --- Just willingness. --- And for now… --- That was enough.

For now is enough. ---

She explained as she brushed off invisible dirt from my suit. "I'm really nervous I can hear my heart thumping." I said as I placed my hand on my chest, breathing softly as Katty bent down. "There is nothing to be nervous about. I believe in you, we all believe in your talent. Just believe in yourself, do your part and leave the rest to us. No pressure." She said as the hair stylist, Becky was done with my hair. I felt nervous as I faced the photography crew but with Katty's encouraging eyes, the hopes of all my friends behind me and the need to leave early because of a date later in the day, I stood my ground.

-I like the way you are, you know," he withdrew. -And what's the way I'm supposed to be," I put my lips in a single line. -I can feel your essence, you are a simple woman, I like to be surrounded by transparent people, don't think I don't notice when someone approaches me out of interest," he waved his glass making a sound between the clash of ice cubes. -The truth is that I just act as I am, if people like it, fine, if not, I raised my chin proudly. Suddenly Nate took off his shirt.