Hiraeth

Strangers

A girl was crying in the bathroom today. She and I were the only ones there, and I heard the sniffles as I wiped my hands on a paper towel. Her music was soft, but audible through the stall door. 

"...You don't have to change a thing, the world could change it's heart..."

I recognized the song, by Alessia Cara. Scars to Your Beautiful. 

And it was on the tip of my tongue to talk to her. Maybe stand outside the door, or just say it while I wiped my hands and threw the paper towel away. 

"Hey, you're doing great. Keep your head up. It gets better." 

Even if I don't know what you're going through.

But I pursed my lips and bit my tongue, keeping my head down as I turned a blind eye to her sadness. And I thought to myself, "And the world could change it's heart. Or be strong enough to show it's kindness in the first place."

I wonder how many strangers have passed that person. How many of us left her behind, telling ourselves it's 'polite' to pretend we didn't hear it and 'polite' to give her her privacy. 

How many people left a girl standing in her pain, and called it polite to mask our own heartlessness. 

~October.