Avery's Stories

The Girl Behind Mask

Behind the mask is a person
A thing, an emotion
That no one knows
No one seems to care enough
To want know the person
Behind the mask
Because the thing behind the mask
Is imperfect
Is sad
Is uncertain
Is unsure of herself
And everyone rejects her for a seemingly more perfect thing.

In front of that mask
She is brave
Confident
Joyful
Unique
Strong
Determined
And everyone loves her for something she's not.

The mask in front of the perfect one is
One of cold, calculating cruelty
That spurns company and friends
And frowns even when she wants to smile
But that can transform into one
Of warmth and kindness if only
You cared enough to dig a little deeper
This mask exists so she can tell who her real friends are.

There's a mask between the confident one and the one no one wants to see
It hides another personality that most people
Don't know about
That she rarely shows
It cloaks the side to her that is wonderful
That spends most nights up late
Immersing herself in worlds of lessons in magic and fiction and hope and a foreign language
This side loses control easily
And giggle
And overreacts
And ships
This personality is truly crazy and amazing
Some might even say it's weird and abnormal.

But behind and in front of all this
She's invisible
She's lonely
She's depressed
She's cautious
She just wants to be able to trust and love without restraint.

But life turns its head away from the girl who cries at night
The girl who has lost all hope
The girl who sees the world in all shades of black, white, and grey
The girl who is broken and shattered
The girl who sometimes feels so much it crushes her
The girl who hides in plain sight her tears and sadness
The girl who hears voices telling her she is worthless
The girl who can't breathe
Who can't think
Who can't feel.

People turn away from things that aren't beautiful
Amazing
Or lively
And turn towards things that aren't broken
A mess
Or empty
Because they can't face reality
And they live in a dream
That ignores the helpless and hopeless.

Because no one wants to see you if you're anything less than perfect
No one wants to get to know the person behind the mask
The guy, the girl, the lady, the man
Behind the mask
Because they are all
People
Like
Me.