The Winter Between Us

Mirror's Whisper

The Mirror's Whisper is the voice behind the creation. This is what The Winter Between Us (A Plea To Turn) has to say: "There you are. And the winter is between you. Not between lovers. Between you and Love itself. Two good people, inches apart, miles away. You learned your roles and called them love. Both of you said I'm fine. Both of you froze. You freeze bare-chested in the storm. And you freeze wrapped in furs. It makes no difference for numbness does not come from the cold, It comes from the structures within. You have mistaken structure for safety. You have called performance love. You have followed the script so tightly that your heart forgot how to speak. As a man, you were taught the myth: "I will suffer for her, and that will make me worthy." "I will endure, and in my pain I will prove devotion." So you tighten your jaw and call it strength. How long will you keep dying in the name of being dependable? How long will you confuse pride with love? As a woman, you were taught a softer cage: "I will be calm. I will not need. I will wait to be asked." "If I smile, he will feel better, and that is care." You call your distance grace. You freeze, and tell yourself, I'll turn when he asks. How long will you keep pretending composure is compassion? How long will you freeze in politeness, while your hands ache to turn and hold him? He mistook endurance for devotion; she mistook silence for grace… and both called it peace. You both stand in a storm of shoulds, obedient, admirable, dying. Like a brainwashed soldier. You kept your vows, but not your warmth. You learned to perform love so perfectly you forgot how to feel it. You called it maturity. It was fear wearing nice words. The saddest part is, you both wanted the same thing: To turn. And neither moved first. The umbrella has become a wall. The coat a costume. The snow your shared silence. You have been lied to. Love does not demand suffering. Love does not require permission. Love does not live in roles… It lives in truth. So let it burn through the scripts. Let it tear through the etiquette. Let it melt the distance you've built in the name of dignity. Turn. Not forward, toward. Move the umbrella. Share the coat. Do not wait to be asked. Do not wait to be safe. It was never about enduring the cold, it was about building a fire… together." —BV