for The Sunday Muse
‘
There was a time when she was one they envied. Outgoing, exuberant, not a care in the world. No matter what, she saw happiness even where they saw pain.
Then one day she changed. Why nobody knew. She began to lead a monochrome existence in the technicolour world she’d created.
A shrug of her shoulders, a frown as she gazed to the ground, or a glance over her shoulder was as close as she ever came to expressing her feelings.
Inevitably her circle of acquaintances grew smaller, after all, many of them were only ever there to benefit from her joy and generosity.
A few genuine friends remained but despite their best efforts to withdraw her from the dark place where she dwelled, she resisted. They begged her to open up about what if anything had happened causing her to become so reserved.
But I know. And the pain I caused her is something I’ll regret to the day I die. What I did was unforgivable and even if she offered a hand as a gesture of forgiveness I couldn’t bring myself to take it.
Please don’t ask me what happened. Thinking about what I did to her is more than I can bear, talking about it would, well…
It’s best I leave.
Disappear.
Now.
‘