The Masking Smile

This is the story of a girl. A girl who danced in both the sunshine and the rain. A girl whose smile shone brighter than the moon and whose laughter danced and bubbled like a river.

This girl, who possessed the qualities of an angel, would bring joy to the lives of many. It seemed to be her destiny to spread positivity like a plague and kindness like glitter. She would leave a trail of it behind wherever she went, each small action inspiring kindness among strangers.

This girl’s name was Lily, and just like the flower she radiated joy. But Lily had a terrible secret. Lily was not truly happy. When she awoke in the morning, she found herself questioning what her purpose was. She knew others saw her as happy, but she couldn’t see it in herself. She wasn’t doing anything important with her life. She didn’t know what she wanted in the future. Sometimes, she felt so lost she wondered if it was even worth getting out of bed.

But she did get out of bed, and she climbed into the shower and as the steam fogged up the room she blocked out her worries and fears. As she got dressed, she made sure she put on the mask of happiness each morning as well. And then she left her house and went out into the big, wide world that didn’t seem to understand her.

Lily did this for years. Her family was proud of her; they bragged about her to everyone they knew. Her younger sister thought Lily was everything she ever wanted to be, looking up to her for advice and hoping one day people would look at her the way they looked at her sister.

But still, Lily struggled to see her own worth. She felt the darkness in every part of her soul when she laid down to bed. She didn’t understand that others valued her. She couldn’t fathom what they saw in her, because her mind wouldn’t allow her to see it herself.

And one day, the darkness was too dark. Lily didn’t get out of bed that day. She never got out of bed again. And that bright, beautiful, shining star of a girl was lost to the world forever. All the laughter she had spread slowly faded. The people who remembered her bright smile finally understood that it had been covering something deeper.

People mourned Lily’s kindness. “If only,” they thought. “How could noone have known,” they asked.

And from then on they promised themselves never again. They would look deeper than the surface. They would ask hard questions because a sharp answer is better than the eventuality of no answer at all. They would look past the smile, and notice the sadness in the eyes. Because they refused to lose another beautiful soul through their inattention.

#MentalHealthAwareness