Today, around 11:00 AM, Clara returned home after a 4-month business trip.

The silence changed shape.

Clara blinked.

Once.

Of the.

As if the brain needed extra time to process something it wasn’t expecting.

“How much?” he asked.

“Of the months.”

Nobody moved.

Clara leaned back slightly in the armchair, but it wasn’t rest. It was… adjustment. Like someone adjusting a load that was too heavy.

She looked at her husband.

“Did you know?”

He nodded.

“Yeah.”