You Were Held Before The Break

The water is still running, but you are already rehearsing the line you will say later. A casual shrug.

A joke about being tired. Anything to cover the real reason you vanished: their laughter cracked something open inside you that you were not ready to show.

You spend the morning polishing the mask until it looks like skin. But the light does not need your performance.

It sees the tremor in your hand before you even lift the cup. It knows the weight of the smile you are wearing.

You do not have to explain the break to the One who held you before the fracture happened. The mask is heavy, but you were made to be seen, not to hide.

Put it down. The real you is already known, and it is enough.