It does not hurt the way it used to, but it still hurts. The ache is quieter now, buried under routine and silence. People say time heals everything, but they do not tell you that healing can look like pretending. I do not cry as much, but I still feel you in moments I cannot explain. A song, a scent, a sudden memory, and it all comes back. The pain has changed shape, but it never really left. I learned how to carry it without breaking. I smile more now, but it is a softer kind of smile, the kind that remembers even as it lets go and keeps walking.