Ahmed Al-Sheikh: The Pretence
The cruelest of all pretences is to make those around me believe that everything is fine, when in truth I am not well... Yet I have mastered the role of the stoic, just as a corpse is adept at feigning sleep, whilst I wither away like a thistle in barren soil that bears no fruit. I smooth my features every morning so my brokenness is not revealed, and I arrange my silence carefully so my pain does not slip out.
