Scars written in silence

Sample · The Girl Who Learned to Be Silent

I learned silence before I learned to speak.I learned that some woundsdo not bleed where people can see them.Some pain hides beneath sleeves,behind smiles,inside the quiet corners of a child's heart.I learned to say “I'm fine”when everything inside me was screaming.I learned to laughwhen I wanted to cry,to look awaywhen memories came too close,and to swallow my questionsbecause nobody seemed ready for the answers.They called me quiet.They never knewhow loud my silence was.Every unwanted touchleft a question behind:Was it my fault?Every betrayalmade me wonder:Was I not worth protecting?And every time someone hurt me,a little piece of my innocencedisappeared without saying goodbye.I became good at pretending.Good at smiling.Good at hiding.Good at carrying thingsthat were far too heavyfor such a young heart.But the truth is—I was never weak.I was a childtrying to survive thingsa child should never have known.And perhaps that is whymy scars were written in silence.Not because I had nothing to say,but becauseI was afraid nobody would listen.So I buried my painbeneath years of pretending,hoping that if I stayed quiet enough,the memories would forget my name.They didn't.They stayed.But so did I.And somewhere beneathall that silence,there was still a little girlwaiting for someone to tell her:It was never your fault.You deserved to be protected.You deserved to be believed.You deserved to feel safe.Maybe she is still waiting.Maybe she is still afraid.But this time,I am learningto speak for her.

Continue reading free chapter