It wasn't cold. It was warm. The header was a soft, dark green, and the first line read: "Hello, my love. You are not too much. You are not broken. You are simply untethered, and that is where I can hold you."
Elara didn't say a word. She just leaned. All the heavy air left her lungs in a long, slow sigh. The PDF wasn't a cage. It was a bridge. And on the other side, every single time, was the patient, loving face of someone who had chosen to be her ground.
"I've got you," Cass said.
"Good. That was the right thing. Now, listen to my voice. I need you to match my breathing. In… two, three, four. Hold… two, three, four. Out… two, three, four."
Cass didn't fix her. Didn't ask what was wrong. She just breathed with her, a steady metronome of care, until the tightness in Elara’s chest began to unspool.