The Light Does Not Require Your Mask

The candlelight flickers across faces you love, casting shadows that look like the end of the world. You are rehearsing the words that will shatter the version of you they think they know.

The air feels thick with the goodbye you haven't spoken yet. But listen — the light does not require you to be the person you were five minutes ago.

It does not ask you to protect them from the truth by hiding in the dark. There is a courage rising in your chest that feels like fear, but it is actually the light preparing to speak.

You are not erasing yourself; you are finally allowing the real you to step into the room. The version of you they love was never the mask — it was always the truth waiting to be told.