I'm sad, I'm hurt, I'm not happy— but somehow, I still know how to smile. Every moment, every minute, every hour, I notice another side of me I tried so hard to hide. My weaknesses, my little fears, the things I never say— they keep finding their way back into my thoughts. And it hurts. Because hiding everything is painful when all I want is to breathe without pretending I'm okay. So I wear a mask of happiness, smile when I want to cry, laugh when my heart feels heavy, and say, “I'm fine,” when I'm anything but. And then— the one person I thought would stay beside me disappeared, like unexpected rain. Here one moment, gone the next, leaving me standing beneath a sky I don't know how to face. Maybe that's what hurts most— not that I was already breaking, but that for a little while, I thought I didn't have to hide it.