That's how it worked for me, for years. It has always been a back up plan, just to make me braver to face the day. To say hello to strangers. To force a smile, or not to care when I can't smile and afraid someone will find it weird. It's been such a comfort, kind of like a pillow I can hug whenever things get too much.
And honestly I think I just made it sound romantic, the place where I live. It's really not. It's a tourist town, so it's always full of people. I don't like people. It's always crowded and I always hate being outside because I feel self conscious. But it partly is romantic. Because the sea is beautiful. And I wish I could feel truly free.
But the path to the lighthouse is always filled with people, taking walks or jogging. And the beaches aren't lonely. And the fear takes away the pleasure from everything.
Sometimes I think maybe I need a reset button. And in those moments I really hope there's some sort of afterlife that includes reincarnation. Maybe another go, another home, another family, would make a different everything. I hope so, and sometimes, even against logic, I just like to blindly believe that it would make a difference. I like to think there is this other version of me, possible, somewhere in the universe. Some other way for things to play out. But I don't think I can live in my daydreams.
Love,
—Alec.