Mask

She’s always smiling, ever lively,

She’s the life of the group,

When you are down she’s there for you,

Ever loving, ever caring

But if you really take your time to observe her,

You’d discover those moments when she sits and her ever laughing eyes are dull,

You’ve noticed this a few times,

Then a day comes and you ask her, why?

She shrugs saying, it’s nothing, it’s just school stress,

You laugh it off saying, e go be,

It’s forgotten.

But only if you had tried harder, looked deeper,

Only if she had known that she didn’t have to bear the pain alone,

If only,

Then maybe it wouldn’t have happened,

Maybe you would have discovered that the constant smile was just a mask,

A mask to hide her reality from you, from the world and maybe escape it all at least for a while.

It is done you get the dreaded note,

In it you discover things you’ve always joked about but never knew was her reality,

You go back in time thinking of those rare moments wishing you had tried harder.

But really who is to blame

You – who never saw the truth or

Her – for hiding the truth.

Depression, no matter it’s manifestation, is real.

Check on your loved ones, your friends, ask about their lives,

Be a listener not a speaker and then maybe you’d be able to hear that tiny voice calling out for help.

Author: Wuraola Mahrufat Omisore

Wuraola Mahrufat Omisore is a 400level Economics student at the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Osun state.