Empathy is when someone doesn't change the subject when your voice cracks. It's when they don't tell you to stop crying, or remind you how lucky you are, or make your sadness feel like a burden. It's when they just sit there, quietly, maybe with a hand on your shoulder, saying nothing except "I know." Empathy doesn't rush you. It doesn't say "move on." It says "you can feel this. You're still healing, and that's okay."