The Face They See, the Soul She Silently Carries | by Pragathi Bagalkot | Jul, 2025

How do people know her?

To the world — even to the people closest to her — she is the happiest, loudest, most fun-loving girl in the room. The clumsy one who laughs too hard, talks too much, and seems to love herself unconditionally. She’s the one with the brightest smile and the most contagious energy. The one who looks like she doesn’t care about anything — like she’s living her best life.

But who is she, really?

She’s someone who has never truly been understood. Someone who’s never really been seen.

Behind that smile is a storm. Behind that laughter is a silent cry. She has mastered the art of hiding her tears so well that no one notices she’s falling apart. Every day, she screams from the inside — silently — and some days, she just wants to quit.

Quit.
But… she won’t.
Because she believes she’s strong enough to handle everything alone. And maybe that belief is the only thing keeping her going.

She never shares what’s really going on — not even with the people she trusts most. Not because she doesn’t want to… but because she knows she’ll be misunderstood. Because people don’t really listen — they hear you just enough to offer advice. Not comfort. Not presence. Not understanding.

Not once has she met someone who simply says, “I’m here. I’m not here to judge or fix you. Just talk. I’m listening.”
What she longs for is so simple —
To be loved without question,
To be held without asking,
To be cared for without conditions…
To be seen, truly seen — beyond the smile.

She’s fighting every single breath just to stay alive.

I think a part of her died when she lost her mom. Another part died with her papa. And a little more dies every single time someone speaks badly about her parents — even after they’re gone. And when the woman she trusted the most in those hard times walked away without any guilt, without the slightest courtesy or even basic humanity… that day, something broke in her.

That day, she lost her trust in people.
Now, she’s even scared to trust anyone again.

So what’s left?
A body… and a hopeless soul.
One that, despite everything, still believes — somehow — Maybe… just maybe, life will change.

That one day, she’ll be loved the way she’s always longed to be: completely, gently, without conditions.