The Weight Beneath My Smile

Finding refuge within one’s own shadow

Image generated by AI. Prompt by author

I have walked along the path of others laughed as they laughed, and celebrated their lives, even as I was torn apart inside. Yet, I managed.

To be a part of their triumphs, their victories, and their quiet moments of joy, I tried to make them beautiful in my own little ways: crafting cards, weaving heartfelt verses, and shouting loud, earnest wishes.

But I am grappling with a silent fatigue, afraid to reveal my ache. For what if they frown? What if they resent my silence, or fail to understand the weight I quietly carry?

I can no longer wear this pretentious mask, or offer this plastic smile. I have grown weary of a world where people see only themselves.

I try to fit myself into shades to rest my troubled soul.

Some shadows are not befitting, for they are too small to hold me, while others loom so large that I disappear within them, unnoticed.

So I take respite in my own shade. It does not abandon me; it moves only when I move, walking beside me through every silence the world could never understand.

© Jayasudha All rights reserved

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