He Never Asked – He Just Chose to Stay | by PRARTHANA RAVISHANKAR | Aug, 2025
Some people don’t need to understand everything. They just love you through it anyway.
We were kids once – classmates, friends, neighbours.
Then life moved on, as it always does.
Five years of silence.
Five years of growing separately.
We were just school friends.
Casual, Nothing deep, Life went on – we lost contact.
Five years passed.
I never imagined we’d meet again.
But somehow, he came back and this time, he stayed.
It’s been five years since he re-entered my life and through every single moment – good or terrible – he’s never let go of my hand.
He noticed something was wrong.
Most people would have asked, judged, or walked away.
But he didn’t ask.
He just observed, Softly, Quietly, Kindly.
I live with trichotillomania – a condition many don’t understand.
It took away my confidence. It changed the way I saw myself. I stopped doing things I loved – including swimming (something that once felt like home to me), rainy weather, looking in mirror, taking selfies, going to salons/ haircuts, letting someone touch or play with a hair, wearing helmets, caps.
But he never made me feel broken.
Not once did he ask, “What happened to your hair?”
He didn’t need an explanation.
He only gave me one thing, over and over again: support.
I remember the day he said,
“It’s okay, Let’s swim, Just enjoy it.
Don’t think so much.”
And that’s how I swam again – not because I wasn’t afraid, but because someone made me feel safe enough to try.
He made room for both the girl who loved swimming and the girl who sometimes hid under a hood – assuring me they were the same person, equally worthy.
He protects me in the softest ways.
If it starts raining while we’re on his bike, he’ll pull over under shelter – not because of the rain, but because he knows how anxious I feel about getting my hair wet.
When you live with something like trichotillomania, even a drop of water can feel like exposure. And somehow… he just gets that.
He surprises me with the things I love.
He understands my moods, my silences, my struggle – and never once makes me feel like a burden.
He is the steady one.
The pole I lean on during my storms.
The friend I didn’t know I needed – until he returned.
Not everyone gets a friend like this.
I know how rare it is and I know how healing it can be.
So, if you have someone around you who’s hurting quietly…
Don’t ask too many questions.
Just stay,
Be patient,
Be kind.
Be the reason they believe that people can stay – even through the hard parts.
Because sometimes, the quietest kind of love is the loudest kind of help.
To the one who stayed: Mahendra
You didn’t fix me.
You just reminded me I was still worth standing beside.
And that was everything.
Thank you for helping me through what most people couldn’t even see.
🧠💙
Mental health matters.
So does friendship.
