### The Weight of Worry

Lucas stared blankly at his laptop screen, the blinking cursor on his essay mocking him with each silent pulse. He had been trying to write for hours, but the words wouldn't come. His mind was a foggy maze of half-formed thoughts, and every time he thought he found a way out, he hit another dead end. The anxiety sat in his chest like a rock, heavy and immovable.

Unable to bear the silence any longer, Lucas grabbed his phone and typed a quick message to his best friend, Sophie.

**Lucas**: “Hey, do you have a minute to talk? I’m feeling really overwhelmed right now.”

He stared at the screen, waiting for the three little dots that would tell him she was typing. Nothing. Minutes passed, and his heart sank further. Just as he was about to give up and put his phone down, it buzzed with a reply.

**Sophie**: “I’m really sorry, Lucas. I feel the same way. Everything feels like too much right now.”

Lucas frowned, his fingers hovering over the screen. He hadn’t expected that. Sophie was always the strong one, the one who could handle anything life threw at her. If she was feeling overwhelmed too, then things must be bad.

**Lucas**: “Do you want to talk about it?”

This time, her reply was quick.

**Sophie**: “I don’t know… I’ve been feeling so lost and anxious lately. Like I’m stuck and can’t see a way out. I don’t know how to help myself, let alone anyone else.”

Lucas took a deep breath, reading her words again and again. It was strange, but knowing that Sophie felt the same way he did made his own burden feel a little lighter. Maybe they were both stuck in the same foggy maze, but at least they weren’t alone.

**Lucas**: “I get it. I’ve been feeling like that too. It’s like I can’t move forward, no matter how hard I try. But maybe… maybe we don’t have to figure it out alone. Maybe we can just talk about it, even if we don’t know the answers.”

There was a long pause before Sophie replied.

**Sophie**: “Yeah… Maybe you’re right. We don’t have to have everything figured out, do we?”

**Lucas**: “No, I don’t think so. Let’s just be here for each other. That’s enough for now.”

Another pause, but this time it felt different. Softer, lighter, as if the weight in his chest had eased just a little bit.

**Sophie**: “Thanks, Lucas. I needed that.”

**Lucas**: “Me too, Sophie. Anytime.”

They continued to chat, sharing their worries, their fears, and the small victories they had managed to carve out in their days. As the minutes turned into hours, Lucas felt the fog in his mind begin to lift. He didn’t have all the answers, and neither did Sophie, but for the first time in a long time, that felt okay.

They might both be struggling, but at least they had each other. And for now, that was enough.