I had always told myself that I was good at handling things. That no matter what happened in my life, I could bear the weight of it. But the truth was, I’d been carrying things for a long time—baggage I never spoke of, feelings I buried deep, and insecurities that felt like lead weighing me down.
Her name on my phone felt like an anchor around my neck, every time. I wanted to answer her calls, but each ring felt like a reminder of how much I was failing. Failing her. Failing myself.
I couldn't bear to hear her voice anymore. It wasn’t her fault, not at all. She was a bright light, a warmth in the cold. But I was drowning in my own mind, and I didn’t know how to swim back up.
“Why do you keep shutting me out?” Her words echoed in my mind, making me feel more hollow with every passing moment. She didn’t know, couldn’t know, the dark space I was living in.
I shut her out because I was struggling with overwhelming depression and suicidal thoughts, feeling as though I was sinking into a darkness I couldn't escape, and I didn’t want her to witness me at my lowest, fearing it would only pull her down with me.
I had to protect her from it. From me. So, I shut myself away. But the isolation was suffocating. I wanted to scream, but the silence was louder than anything I could say.
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A Different View
Short Story"A Different View" tells the emotional journey of Zayne, a man torn between love and his inner struggles. After meeting someone online and quickly falling in love, Zayne finds himself overwhelmed by his own mental health battles-depression, fear, an...
