ART OF LOOKING FINE.

YOU HANDLED IT SO WELL. No. I didn’t. I just survived it in silence, and no one saw what it cost me. BUT I HAD TO SMILE, Even when everything in me was falling apart. Even when my chest felt heavy and my eyes were tired of holding back tears. I smiled so no one would ask questions I didn’t have the strength to answer. I smiled so I wouldn’t have to explain the chaos inside me. Because if I looked okay, maybe I could trick myself into being okay. BUT I HAD TO ACT NORMAL, So I showed up. I laughed at jokes. I replied to texts. I posted cute pictures. I went out like nothing was wrong, like my world wasn’t silently crumbling. No one noticed the shakiness in my voice or the moments I drifted away. They just assumed I was healing. But I was hiding. BUT I HAD TO STAY STRONG, For them. For me. Because I didn’t want to be seen as weak or dramatic. Because breaking down felt like a luxury I couldn’t afford. So I held myself together with trembling hands. I became everyone’s safe space while mine was burning. BUT NO ONE NOTICED, not the silence, not the sadness, not the slow disappearance of my spark. They saw someone who handled it well. But I didn't. I just mastered the art of looking fine.