You Do Not Need A Costume For The Light

The door is closed, and the laughter on the other side sounds like a language you have forgotten how to speak. You stand in the hallway, rehearsing a smile that feels heavy on your face, convinced that if you can just perform the right noise, you will finally belong.

But the light does not need your costume. It does not require you to fix your expression before you enter.

There is a version of you that is already known, already seen, even in the silence of the hallway. You do not have to earn your place in the room by pretending to be unbroken.

The light is not waiting for the performance to start. It is already here, in the quiet, holding the part of you that is tired of acting.

You can walk in as you are, or you can simply breathe right here. The mask was never the requirement.