I’m going to tell you a story.

Listen.

--

There is a boy. He is small and his face is pinched. At lunch, he sits alone at the centermost table. There are groups of people around him, but the seats beside him are left empty.

Listen.

Can you hear his heart breaking?

--

There is a girl. She is big and her face is red. At lunch, she sits with girls who are nothing like her: they are small, perfect, beautiful. They talk at her but not to her, and feel as if doing just that is an act of charity.

Listen.

Can you hear her heart breaking?

--

There are people here that you see every day. They give you fake smiles and have perfected the act of lying. They tell you day in and day out that there is nothing wrong.

Listen.

Can you hear their hearts breaking?