A gleaming demeanor hid a dark interior.

No one dared to question my painted smile or the pain in my eyes.

No one asked,  so I didn't tell.

Falsified statements." I am fine." "I am happy."  I am not dying inside.

Every time I saw someone smile, I wondered if they are like me too.

I wondered if they felt like the shell of a person the way that I did.

So, one day, I asked. I tried to save them and even save myself.

Their responses? "I am fine."

Three girls who were just like me in that they were struggling, but our struggles were very different.

We were brought together by our darknesses, but through the four of us being brought together a light was infused into each of us.

Depression. Suicidal thoughts. Cutting. Anorexia.

Together we have conquered it all. 

I no longer feel like the shell that I once was. I feel like the beautiful young woman that I now know that I am.

We no longer need one another, but we stick together because we have all seen behind each others curtains.