Take a look around. People walk around with smiles on their faces and secrets in their heart.

The girl you just passed on the street wears long sleeves

to cover the bruises she gets from her father,

she falls asleep every night

to the lullabies of his drunken screams and her own muffled sobs.

The boy who used to be in your math class

and never spoke a word the entire year

hears enough voices in his own head,

they tell him he will never be good enough

and he’s starting to believe them.

The girl sitting in the corner of the store you just left

drowns herself in her book, she’s swallowing every phrase

instead of the meals her mother tries to force feed her

because she needs a reason not to think about the number on the scale.

The boy working the cash register in the supermarket smiles and tells you to have a nice day

but it’s been three years since he’s had one himself,

he goes home and hopes tonight he’ll be strong enough to put the blade down

but deep down

he knows he will wake up the next morning with new scars and an empty soul.

Take a look around. The world isn’t as golden as it seems.