Maybe it was you or someone you knew, who stood at the edge of the family conversation but never quite stepped in. Not because there was nothing to say but because the space to speak felt thin and fragile
How are you? How was your day? Was always met with "I'm fine", not because the child was hiding something monstrous, but because no one ever dug deep enough to know the real answers. The parents weren't cruel, but maybe they were tired, or maybe raised the same way, in homes where feelings were not discussed but disciplined . So the atmosphere never formed and the door never opened.
And so the child turned outward and was left at the mercies of friends, classmates, to anyone who'd listen. But out there, in the world of peers the are no guardians, only judges and very few listeners. Every secret shared became the topic for gossip, every vulnerability risked becoming a punchline. the lost ward wanted to open up but didn't know how. Wanted to be understood but had no words for the mess inside.
So the thoughts piled up, all tangled in a knot with none to untie. From outside the ward looked normal, smiled when needed but inside the mess grew. I quiet kind of of lost. And sometimes that's the hardest place to find yourself back from.