29/04/2023
[TRIGGER WARNING: DEATH, DEPRESSION]
It still amazes me how my friends know me better than my blood. My friends? We didnât grow up under the same roof. We went to different schools, played different games, had a lot of different experiences. But they know me as if theyâre around even before my first breath.
They know what to say and not say. They know what conversations could trigger me so they try their best to avoid it. They know how to handle my episodes. They donât force me back to the right mind rightaway for the sake of duty. Instead, they give me space and let me have ample silence until I think things over and come back myself. They know me when Iâm hurting. They know that âhow are you?â and âare you okay?â shouldnât be asked because Iâll just lie about it. They know from the looks in my eyes when I lose control, when I disconnect with the world, when Iâm not myself. They let me grieve, they let be at my lowest. They never make me feel like I always have to be strong because I have people to look after. They never force me to succeed. They never force me to always be the bigger person. They let me acknowledge my own feelings. They always know where Iâm coming from even when theyâve never been there.
Most of all, they know that damaged child hidden inside my body. They know her like the back of their hands. They know she likes strawberry ice cream, they know she canât tolerate noise as it reminds her of wall banging. They know what she had to go through. They know she looks tough like a concrete wall on the outside but on the inside, sheâs just a pup craving for gentle hands that never landed on her for years now. They know why sheâs like that and what she needs. They know that no matter how impulsive she may seem, sheâs not a terrible personâjust in pain.
Iâm a complicated being. But my friends managed to figure out who I am and why I am the way I am. Sometimes I even think they know me better than my own self.
So if I die today, donât come looking for clues in my bedroom. I wonât leave it there. Look for my friends, theyâll know every little detail.
âAli
Artwork retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/p/CGfsNMJhkt1/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=