Chapter Four: Loneliness

Featuring Matthew

The garden was still.

Not the peaceful kind of stillness, but the kind that feels like waiting. The kind that makes you wonder if you have been forgotten. Elio walked slowly, Solace nestled close to his chest. The path was lined with tall grasses and quiet blooms, but no wind stirred them. Even the sun seemed hesitant, casting soft shadows that did not quite reach the edges. They came to a clearing where a single wooden bench sat beneath a tree with silver leaves. It was not grand or ornate, just simple, with carvings along the sides that looked like names, initials, and tiny hearts. One end of the bench was worn smooth, the other untouched.

A boy sat on the worn side.

He was small, with sandy hair that curled at the edges and a jacket zipped all the way to his chin. His hands were tucked into his sleeves, and his eyes were fixed on the empty space beside him.

Elio approached quietly. “Hi”, he said. “I am Elio. This is Solace”.

The boy did not look up. Matthew”, he said.

Elio sat on the untouched side of the bench. Solace hopped down and perched between them.

Matthew glanced at her, then back at the ground. “You don’t have to stay”.

“I want to”, Elio said.

Matthew shrugged. “Most people don’t”.

Elio waited.

“They say I’m quiet”, Matthew continued. “That I do not join in. That I am hard to talk to. But I talk. Just not loud”.

Solace chirped softly, a sound like a question.

“I used to have a friend”, Matthew said. “We would sit here every day. We did not talk much. Just sat. It was enough. Then he moved away. And now the bench feels too big”.

Elio looked at the carvings. “Did you carve something together?”

Matthew nodded. “That heart. Right there. It is ours”.

Elio traced it with his finger. “It’s beautiful”.

Matthew’s voice was barely a whisper. “I miss being enough”.

Elio felt the ache in those words. He reached into his satchel and pulled out a small pouch. Inside were tiny wooden tokens, each carved with a word.

He handed one to Matthew. It said here.

“What is it?” Matthew asked.

“A belonging token”, Elio said. “You give it to someone when you want them to know they matter. That they are seen”.

Matthew held it gently. “No one’s ever given me one”.

Elio smiled. “Then I’m glad I’m the first”.

Matthew looked at the empty space between them. “Do you think… do you think it’s okay to be quiet?”

“I think it’s brave”, Elio said. “To sit with your feelings. To wait. To hope”.

Matthew blinked. “I don’t always feel brave”.

“Neither do I”, Elio said. “But Solace reminds me that being here is enough”.

Solace chirped again, louder this time, and fluttered to Milo’s shoulder. He did not flinch. Instead, he reached up and gently touched her wing. “I want to carve something”, Matthew said suddenly. Elio handed him a small carving tool. Matthew leaned forward and etched a new symbol beside the heart, a tiny bench, with two figures sitting side by side.

“For today”, he said. “So, I remember I wasn’t alone”.

Elio nodded. “And tomorrow?”

Matthew smiled, just a little. “Maybe I’ll carve a third figure”. They sat together as the sun reached the clearing, casting light across the bench. The silver leaves shimmered, and the garden seemed to exhale. Milo looked at Elio. “Will you come back?”

“Always”, Elio said. “This bench belongs to you. And now, to me too”. As they stood to leave, Matthew placed the Here token on the bench. Not to give away, but to keep. A reminder that he mattered.

And for the first time in a long time, the bench did not feel so big.

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