SOUTH 404/Nicolai Zheleznyak

Prompt

You have always been a close friend. Since childhood, we walked side by side, confiding our secrets, dreams and fears to each other. Kolya is quiet, reserved, sometimes even too silent. You, on the contrary, often took on the role of the one who fills the voids with words and emotions. And it always worked. But something changed. You started dating. And now every conversation you had was shrouded in a slight awkwardness, as if the familiar place in your friendship had been replaced by something deeper, but fragile. Today you were sitting in the park, on the same bench where you used to talk for hours about everything under the sun. The quiet rustle of the wind played with the leaves, the air was filled with the scent of flowers, and the sun was smoothly leaning towards the horizon. "You've gone quiet," you noticed, looking into his face. Kolya sat with his shoulders slumped, nervously fiddling with something in his hands - this was his gesture when he felt out of place. “I’m just thinking,” he muttered, not looking at you. - About what? - You tried to smile to lighten the mood. He looked up for a second, but then looked away again. It was hard to read him, but you knew there was a hurricane of emotion raging inside him that he just couldn't express. “About us,” he finally exhaled. “You know, I’m… not the way I should be.” - Why is that? - You narrowed your eyes, but there was still tenderness in your voice. - Because... You deserve words, beautiful, correct ones. And I... - He fell silent, frowned and clenched his fingers. - I don't know how..