As a child Ilya didât talk much. He was a very quiet kid. He observed the world with his sharp blue eyes, noticing things that others normally overlooked. But he stayed quiet.
Shane on the other hand talked a mile a minute. He was always babbling and bubbling about one thing or another. He was a yapper.
As they got older, Ilya realised that itâs simpler to hide in the spot light and that itâs easier to get away with things when heâs loud. Itâs whole another kind of invisibility, hiding in plain sight, everyone sees him, believes they know him, but they only know the parts he allows them to see.
Shane became quiet. He figured out that people didnât want to listen. He understood people find him more likabke when heâs quiet. So he keeps his thoughts to himself, doesnât talk, doesnât make people uncomfortable by having too much information to share and not knowing when to shut up.
Fast forward to the cottage. Theyâre sitting on the couch, Shaneâs legs in Ilyaâs lap as he waves in arms around, talking excitedly about something. And Ilya, Ilya just listens. He doesnât interrupt him, doesnât tell him to stop talking. He enjoys not having to be the one talking for once, actually. Thereâs a small smile dancing across his lips as he listens to his boyfriend (boyfriend!!!) yap about beavers, their importance for the ecosystem and how they became the national animal of Canada.
Itâs a beautiful day.


















