I once reached out, believing that warmth could change me.
I wanted to belong — to smile, to stand among others without feeling like a shadow.
But every time I tried, I ended up hurting someone. My words stumbled, my presence cracked the peace I longed for.
Perhaps it isn't the world that's cruel… perhaps it's me.
A flawed soul that bruises what it touches, no matter how gently it tries.
I used to live in silence, and though the loneliness stung, no one was wounded by my existence.
Maybe that's where I should return — to the quiet,
where only my heart can ache,
and no one else will have to bleed because of me.
-CANIS MAJORIS, The Black Death.