Perhaps in another life, I would be granted all that I ever longed for—
a mother who sees me, not just the version of me that performs, pleases, and bends to her wishes, but the quiet truth of me.
One who loves me not because I strive, but simply because I am.
Perhaps, in that distant, kinder life, I would know the warmth of friendship, the soft glow of belonging.
I would be unshackled from the chains of my shyness, my isolation, my fear of the world’s harsh gaze.
I would speak freely of the things that make my heart stir, without shrinking under the weight of disgusted stares.