There is nothing gentle about this, this revelation. It's a secret you've swallowed a thousand times and stared at in the dark to see if its face would come to haunt you...... it did. That's why it's still visible. Your fears started out as eggshells you gradually learned to get around, because wouldn't everyone say it was a phase? Sure, a phase. Something to conquer, yes, but it's not easy to grow out of. So you wake with sweat underneath your armpits and try to smile like the summer isn't weighing you down. There is no cover. All you can admit is how ridiculous this really is. How far it's gotten. And you know it's no one's fault by your own. You were never bullied, you were hurt. You believed in punishment by physical release. You don't know if you will ever not fall into the habit again, but you're on the verge of speaking. Of releasing the words. And you must be careful with them. They are foreign oceans rumbling beneath your feet as you stand at the edge of a rocky cliff and you are slowly losing your grip. But the day will lead you soon.....
