Fall

 Her mask shone in the sunlight.

She prayed that this was not the day it slipped.

She was not allowed to love.

People like her were not allowed to love.

But she fell a little more everyday.

So she put on a mask of aloofness and turned her nose away from the flowers she so desperately wanted to smell.

She feigned hatred at the sun, whose first wave above the horizon captured her love.

She turned away from the leaves that beckoned her with soft breezes.

She put on her mask to cover the smile that threatened to arise, the tears that threatened to spill, the love that threatened to show.

Because they showed she cared.

And she wasn’t allowed to care.

She wasn’t allowed to fall.

Yet she stumbled, she fell, she stood up and moved on.

She fell in love with the scent of the fresh flowers in her mother’s hair.

She fell in love with the scent of coffee lingering on her father’s breath.

She fell in love with the gentle break in her growing brother’s voice.

She fell in love with the tight curls framing her sister’s face.

She fell in love with the carefree laughter of a stranger on the street.

She fell in love with the muted delight in her best friend's eyes.

She fell in love with the quiet teasing of her classmates.

She fell in love with the softening set of her teacher’s frown.

She fell in love with the warm groove of her long loved seat.

She fell in love with the silent shade of their favourite tree.

She fell in love with the hidden care in her packed lunch.

She fell in love with the darkening clouds as they washed their beloved earth.

She fell in love with the humble abode she called home.

She fell in love with the soft smile that she saw in the mirror.

She fell in love with every part of the wondrous world around her.

She stumbled, and this time she let herself fall.

She let the mask slip, the love shine through.

The soft landing was so worth it.