The Silence Beneath Her Smile

In the heart of a quiet little town,
Lived a girl who never wore a frown.
Her eyes sparkled like summer skies,
But no one knew they masked her cries.

Her name was Alina.
A name the town adored.
To her classmates, she was sunshine—
Always the first to cheer others forward.

She danced through hallways with grace,
Left laughter in every place.
But each smile she gave was borrowed light,
Stolen from stars she lost at night.

At home, the walls whispered pain,
A father drunk, a mother drained.
No warmth in hugs, no gentle care,
Just silence thick and heavy air.

She wrote in journals she hid away,
Telling pages what she couldn’t say.
A world inside where she could scream,
Where ink became her fragile dream.

> “Why does no one see the ache?
The mask I wear begins to break.
I’m drowning in a sea so wide,
Yet everyone says, ‘You’re glowing inside!’”



In school, she helped others shine,
Their broken parts she’d intertwine.
She carried their burdens on her back,
While her soul quietly cracked.

“Alina, you're so strong,” they’d say.
“You’re the reason I get through each day.”
She’d nod and beam that perfect smile,
And walk away, breaking inside all the while.

> “They see me as a light to follow,
But inside I am empty, hollow.
My voice is fading with each breath,
I carry the weight of quiet death.”



One winter’s evening, the stars stood still,
As though the sky had sensed a chill.
Alina’s room was neat, bed made tight,
A candle burned soft, a final light.

On her desk lay a single page—
A whisper from a silent cage:

> “To those I loved but could not show,
I wanted you to truly know—
Behind the joy I gave away,
My heart was slowly swept away.

I smiled so you wouldn’t see,
The storms that lived inside of me.
I helped you fly, though I had no wings,
I gave you songs, while breaking strings.

If only one had asked me twice,
Looked beyond my practiced ice—
Perhaps a hand, a touch, a word,
Could’ve caught the pain unheard.

But it’s okay—don’t cry for me,
I’m finally where my soul is free.”



They found her there, a faded flame,
Too late to whisper back her name.
The town fell still, their joy undone,
For the girl who smiled at everyone.

The school planted a tree in her name,
But the wind never spoke the same.
And though seasons come and flowers bloom,
Her absence echoes through every room.

Now in that town when someone smiles,
They pause and look a little while.
For they’ve learned from Alina’s fall—
Even those who laugh may have it all…

…except the strength to make one call.