Feel Better?

The girl sat with her knees against her chest, hugging them tightly as she cried silently. A door closed somewhere else in the house but she ignored it. Only when she heard the gentle knock on her door did she look up.

"Come in," she called in a weak voice.

Her brother opened the door, peeking in. He watched her for a moment, his expression thoughtful, and then he walked across the carpeted floor and sat down beside her. "Wanna talk about it?" he asked.

She sat in silence for a while, and, with a little sniffle, she began, "Today was just really hard..." she trailed off, waiting for his mandatory response to her troubled day. Something like, 'I'm sorry. What happened?'

Instead he laughed humorlessly. "No kidding! It was awful for me too. First, the boss had to do paperwork, and he left me to handle everything by myself..." he went on and on, talking about all the horrible situations at his workplace, ending only after he'd covered all eight hours worth of torture. Then he grinned and stood. "Thanks for listening, sis. I feel tons better." And with that he left.

The girl stared at the door for a while, her wet eyes shocked. Then she scowled. "I guess I should be grateful he was here at all," she mumbled.

---
Everyone is so willing to share, but never to listen. Problem is, if no one listens, who will be heard?