"I think everyone's broken in their own way."
"Does anyone ever get fixed?"
"No," I admit. "I believe healing is an endless process."
"So everyone remains broken?"
"Yes," I answer with a brave smile. "Puzzles can be beautifully incomplete."
"That doesn't sound right.. or fair."
"On the contrary, life is perfectly fair. There is light to darkness, joy to sadness, life to death."
"So what you're saying is.. everybody has problems."
"That's a fact, not an opinion. Pain and stress make us human. Everyone shares the burden of coping with both in their own fashion. But the main goal is to control our emotions, not let THEM control us."
"When did you get so wise?"
"Experience," I reply. "I've learned that love and pain have a lot in common. They can change you. But it's your choice to let both or either break you or make you. Stronger? Weaker? Better? Or Worse? It's always up to you."
"From what I understand, we're all fakes, wearing different masks in front of different people."
"You're right," I agree. "It's a method everyone uses to soldier through their struggles in life. Because everyone has expectations, you have to put an effort in meeting their standards, until it becomes second nature, though it tends to get tiresome, we're all stronger than we want to believe. We are all equally important.
"People feign something when facing other people; Innocence, arrogance, interest, sincerity. In the confusion, we may feel that we're slowly losing our true selves, but whoever we're with and what we do doesn't diminish who we truly are, the "you" when no one is looking."
"But what if criticism or passing of judgment is meant to mold my true self?"
I let my lips form a soft smile. "You'll have to ask yourself if you like who you've become. Only then can you fully accept and love yourself."
"Hold on. We've been talking for almost an hour and I still don't know your name, nor you mine."
"My name is Megan Hernandez," I say politely. "But you can call me Meg, like the shark."
"Is your bite worse than your bark?"
A light chuckle escapes my throat. "If you're not food, I don't intend on biting you at all."
