Easy on me

My Dear Stranger,

I grew up alone.

Not always in a quiet room,

but alone in the way that matters.

I learned early how to stand on my own feet,

how to be strong,

how to survive without asking too much.

When I should have been a child,

I became a grown-up. Before my time.

I didn’t get to play without worry, or do any mistakes.

I didn't have privileges to choose freely what I liked or who I wanted to be.

Life moved fast, and I had to move with it.

I carried responsibility when my hands were still small.

I learned how to hold myself together before I learned how to fall safely.

There was no pause, No one to called to.

No lesson on how to feel, only the need to endure.

My Dear Stranger,

Now I am an adult, but there is still a child inside me. Trapped.

A quiet one. Confused sometimes.

Missing pieces I was supposed to learn back then.

Things that should have been simple, now feel unfamiliar.

I am still learning how to feel, how to live, how to choose, how to rest.

My Dear Stranger,

So go easy on me, ok ?

If I seem unsure, if I move slowly, if I ask questions that sound too simple.

I try my best to catching up with the childhood I never had.

I did my best with what I had.

I grew up too soon, and now I am learning, slowly, on how to grow the rest of the way.

Be patient with me.

Your stranger,

Vie