You know what really fucks me up? You ever experienced a tragedy of some sort, and it like, destroys you inside, and for weeks after you’re a completely different person and all the people around you see this and try to comfort you and take care of you. They’re there for you to help you overcome. And then, time passes, and everyone else moves on because they only inadvertently experienced your trauma through you, which wasn’t anywhere near how you experienced it, but you all move on with your lives anyway. They forget. You’re still drowning. But they’re so used to your mask now that they forgot who you were before you decided to wear the mask and they forgot about the pain you went through. They don’t know you still lie awake at night holding back tears while you drown in anguish because they don’t see that. They see you’re fake smile, they hear your hollow laughter and they’re so accustomed to it that it doesn’t sound out of the norm for them. But you see it. You feel it. And you realize you’re still fighting it, all alone. And no one can see it because they’re only around to see the mask, and you’re too proud to ask for help.
