Siraj Muneer Baloch

The room contracted and expanded all at once as if to mirror my inward chaos and I felt myself go dizzy and ready to pass out. I ran from the room and headed to the nearest restroom, splashing water on my face in desperate hope it would wash away the truth of the moment. Finally I looked up and saw my face for the first time in a new way. I saw myself broken, vulnerable and at the mercy of deep feelings of despair. There I now stood, once more feelings of no consequences. I looked at my reflection and saw the face of a boy well beyond my 21 years, the journey I had taken thus far etched onto my face and now this stage of a totally new born human looked amazing to me. A shadow swept over my feature as I suddenly felt consumed by an unprecedented darkness that for a moment frightened me. The darkness held all my anger, my resentment, the bitterness, the deep loneliness and above all the core belief that somewhere, I was fundamentally flawed and ONLY ____ COULD SEE IT.