#99: Axe Drop #0099 Title: I’m Fine

“I’m fine.” That’s what I say when the room gets too quiet and the weight gets too loud. “Don’t worry about me.” That’s the lie I tell so nobody has to stop what they’re doing and look too close. Because if they looked too close, they might see the cracks. They might see the tired behind my eyes. They might hear the words I keep swallowing. They might realize the person holding everybody else together is barely holding himself up. Sometimes “I’m fine” does not mean I’m good. Sometimes it means I’m out of ways to explain it. Sometimes it means I’m scared if I open my mouth, everything I buried is going to come pouring out. Sometimes it means I do not need a lecture, a fix, or a reason to toughen up. I just need somebody to sit in the dark with me and not run from what they find there. So check on the ones who always say they’re okay. Check on the ones who laugh it off. Check on the ones who disappear when they’re hurting. Check on the ones who carry pain so quietly everybody mistakes it for strength. And if you are the one saying, “I’m fine,” while your soul is bleeding behind your ribs, hear me: You do not have to die inside just to keep everybody else comfortable. You do not have to keep lying so nobody worries. You do not have to disappear to prove you were hurting. Say something. Reach out. Let someone in before the silence convinces you nobody cares. Because the lie is, “I’m fine.” The truth is, I’m tired. The truth is, I’m hurting. The truth is, I still need somebody. And the truth is, so do you. Stay. —Axe🪓 Founder, RavenAxe