I was staring at the ceiling. It was 3 AM. I could hear their noise, their screams like every night. I told myself I couldn’t do this anymore. Counting the days till it was my escape, but it never seemed so near. I felt trapped inside.

But then it was morning. The sun still rose. My parents left for work like nothing happened at all, but then I understood that it was never gonna change — the noise, the screaming, and shouting. It’s not my fault, and I can do nothing to change it. And I started to learn that peace isn’t silence. Peace is my prayer, my small routines, my quiet thoughts that nobody can touch.

I still haven’t escaped the noise.

But I’m learning to build a quiet place inside myself.

That’s what peace is.