The Unseen Love

I am just a child who learned too early how to be quiet so others could be comfortable. I was never understood by anyone! They say, “Someone understands you,” but that someone never stayed. People come. I follow with hope in my hands. They leave like love was only temporary, like I was only borrowed. I thought I was loved. I really did. By my family. By the one I loved the most. But love that expires was never love at all. I am loved only when needed. Only when I am useful. When I give. When I stay silent. When I don’t ask for too much. When I am not needed, I become an option easy to ignore, easy to forget. Sometimes I feel if I disappeared, no one would notice. Not the house I live in, not the people who share my blood. Even here, I am treated with disrespect, like my feelings are too loud, like my pain is an inconvenience. I don’t want much. I just want to be chosen without proving my worth. Loved without a time limit. Seen without begging.