Ameliorate

Isabella

Once upon a time there was a girl.

Her name was Isabella.

She had a secret. One she would take to the grave.

Isabella shut off everyone, afraid of someone discovering what she tried so hard to keep buried.

Her parents and everyone who knew her were clueless about this.

She was dying on the inside, but no one seemed to notice how much she was hurting.

When she walked through her school halls, she would paint a smile on her face, and brighten up everyone's day. She lit up the rooms she would step in.

No one knew what she went through. What horrors would flood her dreams.

She needed someone.

To notice something was wrong.

To care.

Truly care.

No one did.

She would cry herself to sleep some nights. To forget what happened in her past.

But it seemed that her past would end up being her future.

One day she was sitting at a Chick-fil-A. Staring into blankness holding a cup of sweet tea

"Are you ok." A stranger said.

She looked up to see a boy around her age staring down at her.

She didn't reply.

"I have been watching you for a little while, and it seems like you have something consuming your thoughts."

She stared into his hazel eyes and said "One day I will be okay. But just not today."

She got up and walked away. But first she turned to him and thanked him.

Thanked him for noticing.

For caring.

For realizing that her life wasn't all peaches.

For seeing past her walls, and knowing it was all lies.

Once upon a time there was a girl.

Her name was Isabella.

She had a secret. One she would take to the grave.

It would haunt her dreams.

And take over her thoughts.

But she realized, everyone has secrets. And nightmares they didn't want to experience again. All we could do is move past it.

The end.