Surviving in Silence

My Dear Stranger,

I’m still here.

That’s the simplest truth I know.

I wake up.

I breathe.

I fix my hair and step into the day

as if nothing inside me is broken.

I reply when I can.

I smile when I should.

I say “I’m okay”because it’s easier than explaining.

I still laugh,but it’s quiet now.

The sound leaves my lips

and stops before it reaches my heart.

My chest feels tired,

like it’s still learning how to feel again.

I keep showing up.

Even on days when I feel numb,

Empty.

Even when parts of me stay behind,

burried in silence.

People don’t see the cracks.

They don’t see how my smile feels borrowed,

how my strength comes from habit,

not from peace.

My Dear Stranger,

I’m learning to breathe again,

heavy, slow, careful breaths,

as if each one is helping my heart put itself back together.

This is how I feel now,

surviving,

softly,

quietly,

one day at a time.

My Dear Stranger,

I really hope

that maybe one day my laugh will reach my heart again.

Until then,

I stay.

I breathe.

I mend.

Your Stranger,

Vie