"
She was the sunshine in everyone's eyes.
Charming and bubbly
Happy and colourful.

Little did anyone know what she hides.
What her mind hides from her heart.
What she wants to forget.

In a dark room, she cried and cried until her eyes dried out of tears.
Until she fell unconscious.
Until all the pain rose so high that she couldn't feel anything.

The next morning, she got up, dressed and applied make up like a normal day and went out smiling.

She walked alone on the road smiling at everyone.

Sat alone.

People ghosted her, abandoned her and she smiled.
She was toxic.Not to others but to herself.

No one was worried about hurting her. They saw nothing but smile in her face.

No one.

But for one.

He saw the pain behind the smile.
Dark circles behind the coolers.
Tired skin behind the blush.

She entered the canteen with a tray of food,looking around for a place to sit.
She knew everyone in the room but didn't know anyone enough to have a place reserved.

She found a group of girls having an empty seat and walked to them with a smile. They greeted her and she seemed to easily fit in with a simple joke and giggles.

The girls finished eating one by one. As soon as the last finished they left with a good bye to her.

She smiled and waved bye.

She stared at her food and started taking bytes.

No one but him knew how much she dislikes eating alone.

With a huff, he went near her and sat opposite to her.
She looked up.

He started talking random things and that's what she needed the most.
Talk random things.

For the first time,she listened silently.

She finished her food.

Nightmares repeated that night as usual.
Got up and left home as usual.

To her surprise, he was there, waiting for her. They walked together talking.

They sat together.

She was never alone.

He knew something serious was bothering her.
He knew something personal was hurting her.

She knew he knew.

Yet,
He didn't ask her.He didn't want to know.

She respected him for that.

Slowly, the nightmares were getting less and less.

They were best friends.

One day, she opened up about her past to him.
Her loss.
Her scars.
Her deepest parts.

He patted her in the back and said
" Vaalkaina sila adigal vila thana seyyum"

They laughed together.  
"

The 50 year old 'she' finished narrating to her grand children.she was sitting in an armchair with a smile that now reached her eyes.

The children asked her what happened next.
She smiled and looked at the door to see her husband coming.
Chatting with him.

Her husband chatting with him.

She turned to see HIS wife coming behind them with their grandchildren.

The children ran towards each other,went out to play.

The four old people played an old movie and sat down,watching it with a feel of nostalgia hitting each of them.

A good friend can change your life into anything that you want.