Alright, everyone. I guess you could say I'm back.
First of all, I think I owe you an explanation for why I've been absent for a while.
As I mentioned before, I had been seeing a girl from my city. And I want to clarify something from the beginning: our relationship was mainly physical. I say this because I don't want to claim a grief that isn't really mine. It wasn't a romantic relationship in that sense.
Obviously, it has affected me. I've been feeling down, but I'm not devastated, depressed, or anything like that. Even so, I think it's impossible to spend time with someone and be intimate with them without developing some affection or a natural instinct to want to protect them.
And that's exactly what happened.
A few weeks ago, the girl I had been seeing disappeared. We spent about two weeks working alongside her family, the police, and everyone involved in the search.
Sadly, they eventually found her. She had decided to take her own life.
I knew she had her own struggles, but as I said, our relationship was never the kind that would have allowed me to truly help her or become someone important enough in her life to change something like this.
It's an incredibly sad situation, but I'm not so egotistical as to believe that my presence alone would have changed the outcome. Some people carry burdens that are simply overwhelming, and sadly, sometimes those burdens become too much.
If there's one thing I'd like to take away from all of this, it's this:
If any of you are going through a really difficult time or feel like you're at your limit, please talk to someone. It doesn't matter if it's a friend, a family member, or anyone else you feel safe with.
One conversation may not change your life overnight, but sometimes it's enough to give you that little push you need to keep going for one more day. And with time, things usually do get better. Not because the problems disappear, but because we learn how to live with them and keep moving forward.
As for the story, I'm not abandoning it or anything like that. As I said before, this has affected me, but not to the point where it's going to stop my life.
That said, I'm pretty far behind. I haven't written much at all these past few days, and normally, even if I'm a week late, I already have at least half a chapter finished. This time, that wasn't the case.
My plan is to start publishing again around the middle of next week, although I'd rather not promise an exact date in case something unexpected comes up.
And that's all for now.
I want you all to know that writing this story is still one of the things that relaxes me the most and brings me the most enjoyment. So I'll keep working on it.
Thank you for sticking around and for your patience.
See you all very soon.