The nail

She did something to me.

She didn’t hit me.

She just scraped her little fingernail on the table in front of me.

For 10 seconds.

The sound was like paper tearing slowly.

No one said anything.

Because the sound was too low.

Only I heard it.

And I kept counting: 1, 2, 3... 10.

I asked her, "Why did you do that?"

She said, "Nothing."

And she did it again.

Once more.

10 seconds.

Now a month has passed.

People sit with me normally.

They laugh.

They talk.

But when I hear someone scrape their nail on wood, I stop talking.

I stay silent for 10 seconds.

Even if the whole restaurant is talking.

Anyway, she did something to me.

I won’t tell you what it is.

I just developed a new habit: I feel my little fingernail before I leave the house.

I check if it’s still short.

Because if it grows, I’ll start making the same sound.

And I want to be the only one who hears it.

Is this a problem?

If it is, forgive me.

I won’t talk about it again.