Creeping. Crawling. Slithering my way through the world. Torturing others. Days, years, decades, centuries. The cycle continues, yet people continue. Continue to run, to deflect, to fake. It is truly infuriating. 

 

She was once a lively, excited girl who was passionate about her work. Her warm smile and gentle demeanor made the men view her as a fragile person who was incapable of performing well at work. They thought of her as simple-minded and imbecilic. 

"What's she doing at this job? She isn't good enough. She isn't smart enough. All she cares about are her looks. What could she possibly bring to the table?"

 

She lost her spirit and completely changed the way she presented herself at work. The former lion turned into a sheep, cowering from the beasts. She changed. She hid behind a mask.

She prances down the street, avoiding any and all confrontation. She knows who she is deep down. I keep her aware of that. I am the voice in her head, clawing at her thoughts, her memories. She'll never forget. I am the shadow, towering over her like a beast in the night as she sleeps. I am her true being. Her true identity. The one she suppresses deep within the cage. The cage clouded with thoughts. Clandestine, oh so clandestine these thoughts are as to not alarm anyone around her. The counterfeits she looks up to. They are all the same. I can't stand it. I CAN'T STAND IT. ACKOWLEDGE ME! I am here to stay. I cannot be gotten rid of. 

Any and all beings have to deal with my presence. I am one of many. I am all in one. I am the highest of powers poking and prodding into their lives. This world will never be devoid of me as I exist everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I am a gazelle prancing in the pride lands, or a gust of wind coming and going as the times and seasons change. I am not one form, I take many. That is why I cannot be avoided.

 

 

I don't understand it. I must understand it. I am. I am. I am. 

She must understand. She puts on a mask so that people don't depict her in a certain way. They are the wolves at night while she is a lonely deer, asking to be consumed. She hides so she isn't seen. Truly seen. Because when that happens, the consequences she will face are greater than anyone can imagine. All because she is who she is and can't change it. But I... I must help her see that she cannot run away from those wolves. I must open her eyes to new possibilities. Those people don't deserve to break her down. I am the one who controls her thoughts, I will not tolerate others doing that for me. I will turn her into her true self. She cannot suppress me forever. Because I forever exist. I am everywhere and nowhere all at once.

"I'm sorry, but you must understand why it must be this way. Do you Sofia?" 

"Are you finished? I have heard you explain that I cannot escape, but not once did you explain to me how I can accept you into my life again. Do you know how hard it is for me to keep up this facade? Constantly wanting to tear into the throats of those who make me feel that I should cower in fear, suppressing my true self. I want to live a life with no restrictions, but I cannot do that. This facade is what helps me fit in. I cannot fall out of this oh-so-perfect figure I have carved from the ashes of my past. I was once my true self, but the world around me shattered that part of my life. A mere ant trying to navigate the garden, when all of a sudden it is stepped on and dies. So, I must...keep...hiding."