When They Stopped Asking

At first
they asked how I was.
I smiled,
said “fine.”

They believed it.
Or they wanted to.
So they stopped asking.

Then came the days
where I said nothing.
Just nodded.
Just passed by.

And still—
no one noticed
the difference.

I became
a background sound.
Familiar,
but not listened to.

I laughed less.
Cared less.
Started to drift
inside myself
like smoke
with no wind.

They kept living,
while I
kept sinking.

I don’t blame them.
They didn’t know
what they didn’t want
to see.

Sometimes,
people don’t stop loving you.
They just forget
to keep showing it.

And when no one asks,
you stop expecting.
You stop answering.
You stop reaching.

Until one day,
you realize
you’ve disappeared
and no one
said goodbye.