sol.ace_r

Hi.
For some reason today, you’ve been on my mind, so I’m writing this.
You keep weighing on my heart, and I didn’t want to just sit still and do nothing.

You must have been having a really hard time.
That’s about the only thing I know how to say.
It’s not much of a comfort, and it might even make you feel worse hearing it, but the words kept circling in my head, so I wanted to say them to you.

Honestly, I know how hard you try to act like you’re okay.
You pretend to be indifferent for no reason, you smile as if everything’s fine, and I know that’s your way of getting through things, but every time I see it, something in my chest aches in a strange way.

The things you brush off as nothing, they might actually be pretty big things.
When I think about how long you must have endured them alone, it hurts a little.

And you know, when you smile for no reason, it makes my heart feel strange.
It’s nice—and yet it hurts.

You’ve always had a beautiful smile.
But sometimes that smile looks like you’re forcing the corners of your mouth up because you feel like you have to say you’re okay, and when I see that, my heart sinks without warning.

I wonder how long you’ve been quietly hurting on your own.
How many days you brushed off as “no big deal.”
Thinking about it makes me sad, that you’ve lived like that all by yourself.

To be honest, I wish you could be a little more honest.
If you’re struggling, say you’re struggling.
If you’re exhausted, say you’re exhausted.
I wish you could just let it spill out, casually, and be okay with that.

There isn’t anything amazing I can do for you.
I can listen to all of your feelings and still not be able to fix anything in the end.
But I can sit beside you and listen to your story.
Even if you don’t say a word, I can still sit there with you.

You’re already enough, just as you are right now.
You don’t have to try so hard to be better.
It’s okay to be slow.
It’s okay to do nothing at all.

Instead of those careless words people throw around, like “stay strong,”
I just hope you can live at your own pace.

Thank you for getting through today.
I don’t know how hard you tried without anyone knowing, but I’m just really grateful for that.

If your heart feels heavy again tonight for no clear reason, read this letter one more time.
It might be nothing, but I hope it makes you feel even a little less alone.

Tomorrow, too, just exist in your own way, like you always do.
I like you just the way you are.

You did well today. Really. 🙂