You checked it one more time

You already knew there was nothing new.

You had checked a few minutes ago.

Everything was the same.

Still, you looked again.

Not because you expected something different.

But because there was a small chance that something might have changed.

So you opened it.

The same screen.

The same silence.

Nothing new.

You closed it.

And for a moment, that should have been enough.

But it rarely is.

Because it’s not really about what’s there.

It’s about what could appear.

A message.

A reply.

A small sign that something moved forward.

Even if you tell yourself it doesn’t matter that much,

your attention returns to it anyway.

Not constantly.

Just enough to keep checking.

As if something might happen in the space between the last time you looked

and now.

And each time, it’s the same.

Nothing changes.

But the possibility stays.

And that’s enough to make you look again.