Unforgettable

I had always wished for invisibility during times of distress. I had always secretly hoped that I could just blend into the wall and go unnoticed while I go about my day. And, far the most part, I could. I glided through life as a background character, seen but not spoken to, heard but not listened to. I had never dreamed that one day I would get my wish.

But there I was. Alone.

At first I wondered if I had died. I had ran out of my apartment and knocked on my neighbors door. I was shaken and afraid. But she was even more so. She opened the door and started calling my name, confused. I tried to talk to her but she shut the door in my face. I should have been used to that by now.

Eventually, I realized that I wasn't dead, only invisible. A sad life, really. One I should have been used to. One I should have seen coming. Everyone I spoke to got scared when I tried to talk to them, so eventually I gave up.

I sat in the park, a typical afternoon activity for me, and thought about all the times I've felt invisible in my life. All the times I let myself go unnoticed, or thought to myself, "Why even try when I know I won't be seen? Why even bother when no one will listen?" I thought I knew then what it felt like to be alone. Only sitting in that park, imperceptible, did I truly understand.

I held many regrets. There were so many times that I didn't even try because I just knew it would be for nothing, and so many people that I didn't talk to cause I just knew they wouldn't listen. That feeling was nothing compared to how I felt the day I became invisible. Helpless. Hopeless. Regretful.

All the people in the park knew how to live their lives. The children running around as if nothing could bring them down. The couples staring in each other's eyes as if they're the only ones in the world. I longed to be as free as they were.

I went to sleep that night feeling more alone than I'd ever felt. I thought about all the things I would have done differently, all the chances I would have taken, all the people I would have talked to if I had known that I would have ended up like that. I never gave myself a chance to live, and thought I never would be able to.

Until I woke up.

Glancing down at myself and seeing my hands, my chest, my legs, my toes, everything, I felt so free. I felt the world had given me a new start. And this time, I wasn't going to let it pass me by. This time I was going to be seen. I was going to be heard. I was going to meet new people. Hell, this time I was going to scream! I had lived my whole life wanting to hide away, to be invisible. Not anymore. I wasn't going to let myself go unheard anymore. This time, I was going to do so much more than just be seen. I was going to be unforgettable.