My Idea - AI

Different life

Faith had always been different, though she couldn't explain why. While the other children in her small town ran home after school to embrace their parents or friends, Faith always lingered by the old oak tree at the edge of the playground, watching them with a quiet longing. It wasn't that she didn't want love—it was that she couldn't feel it. Not for her parents, not for her classmates, not for anyone.

Her mother always tried to coax affection from her, but Faith felt nothing when her arms enveloped her in a hug or when she whispered, "I love you, sweetie." It wasn't that Faith didn't understand the words—she did. It was just that, for reasons she couldn't grasp, they didn't mean anything to her. The warmth that should have bloomed inside her chest never came.

At school, Faith watched as her classmates formed close bonds, shared secrets, and made promises of forever. They whispered about their crushes, gossiped about their families, and giggled at inside jokes she was never a part of. Every time she tried to join in, the conversations felt foreign, like she had missed an essential part of the world that others seemed to grasp effortlessly. It made her feel small and invisible, like an outsider in her own life.

She tried to make friends, but something always felt off. When a girl named Lily invited her to sit with her group at lunch, Faith went, hoping for the connection everyone else seemed to have. But even as Lily smiled at her and shared half of her sandwich, Faith felt the distance between them like a shadow, lurking just beyond reach. It wasn't that Lily was unkind, or that Faith disliked her—there was just nothing inside of her to connect with.

As Faith grew older, the feeling of being an outsider only deepened. She found herself walking the halls of high school like a ghost, observing the relationships around her but never able to immerse herself in them. The girls talked about their boyfriends and their crushes, and the boys teased each other about love, but Faith could never relate. She envied the way they looked at each other with such certainty, such ease, as if love was a natural thing that could be found anywhere.

One rainy afternoon, as Faith sat on a park bench, feeling the familiar ache of loneliness creep into her chest, she noticed a small cat sitting on the bench opposite hers. It was wet, its fur matted against its thin body, but it looked at her with wide, trusting eyes. She reached out cautiously, and the cat meowed softly, inching closer. For a moment, Faith hesitated, unsure. But something in the cat's gaze made her extend her hand. It nuzzled her palm, the warmth of its small body offering a strange comfort.

Faith didn't feel love then, not exactly. But as the cat curled up beside her, purring quietly, she felt something close. Maybe it wasn't love as she had read about in books or seen in movies, but it was real. It was a connection, even if it was small and fleeting.

For the first time, Faith didn't feel so alone. She realized that maybe love didn't have to be grand or obvious, and maybe, just maybe, it could grow in places she least expected.

551 word

It was just a short story but maybe some people go through the same thing and i wanted to let them know that you're not alone and there a lot of people who feel the same as you. Fighting!