For whispered touch's Six Billion Secrets Challenge
Secret: Today, I realized that the people that smile and laugh the most are the ones who are suffering the most. Because laughter isn't only the best medicine, it's also the best disguise. I should know, of all people.
Victoire's POV
I wish they'd stop staring. It doesn't matter how I feel; they stare at me like I'm an alien. I can be completely depressed, and no one rushes forward to help me. They just stare at me like I'm an exhibit at a zoo.
So I laugh and smile and pretend I enjoy the attention. I don't. I just want to blend into the walls, like Dom. She can cry in peace. If I'm sad and I want to talk to my friends about it, I have people staring at me and gawking, and I can never burst into tears in front of them.
So I laugh and smile and greet them like my dearest fans. They smile too and think I enjoy the attention, and then they turn away and leave. You'd think they would have stopped, but every week, not always the same person, but someone gawks and stares. Someone points a finger and their eye widen. I can be on the verge of tears, but I have to smile and laugh. Not for my sake, but for theirs.
They make me feel like a fish in a bowl. They push their faces up close to the glass, and they ogle and gawk and point. I swim around desperately, trying to escape their glares so I can cry and be sad or angry or whatever emotion I'm feeling at the time. But there's no where to hide in a fish bowl. So I show off and pretend to be their little toy. I smile and laugh, but inside, my heart is breaking. I can't cry; I can only smile and laugh.
Today, I realized that the people that smile and laugh the most are the ones who are suffering the most. Because laughter isn't only the best medicine, it's also the best disguise. I should know, of all people.