Familiar Voice

Picture by Nadezhda Moryak

It is just familiar. A little deep voice with a little taste of sweetness. Almost like how wisdom would sound if it had a voice. Kinda weird, since we’re always taught that someone wise is commonly described by how articulate they are in sending a meaningful message. But compared to every most-listened podcast out there, it still can’t defeat that familiar voice. Maybe it’s not only about the interesting and logical things that are said. But it’s also about the steadiness.

It steadfastly calms over the unintentional overflow of emotion. Just like an expensive car, ensuring comfort to its passengers even as it drives through bumpy roads. In one’s lifetime, it’s always easy to notice a change in the tone of a voice. The conversation can always be pulled to the edge of the cliff when too many questions are asked. Uncomfortable questions, they said. But later one realizes, it’s most likely just uncomfortable for those who never even dare to think about it. Or accept the way it can turn into something different from what they are convinced to believe.

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But the stillness of that voice only gives clarity and excitement at some moments. The other voice got tired. Not because that familiar voice loses its beauty and eloquence. But because one learns how it slowly resembles that voice, losing its own colour — or worse, its ability to be heard. Is it the space that is not much given, or the hesitation to even dare to take that space? One is still wondering. Because there is a passing thought — once it takes that space, it may be over. The familiar voice will turn into something strange.

And that fear, it’s a curse for every free spirit who also believes in an invisible bond between souls. Or in other words — a curse for a woman

Years have passed, and that familiar voice still has its space among the others. It finds its way back to the part of the brain the second it is heard. The memory comes back all over again. The most comforting, and somehow still intellectually stimulating, with its own unique choice of words.

Now that she recognizes her own voice, would she dare to take the space that she had abandoned for so long?