"Three..."
As he stands infront of a reflection he no longer recognizes, his body begins to tremble
Anxiety seeps into the cracks of his troubled soul and he is left stiff
Unmoved
Wrapped by the cold, rigid fingers of fear


"Two..."
He begins to settle
He fills his lungs with deep, steady breaths and slowly gains composure
All while he lies to himself
"I'm okay, I'm okay"
Until he finally develops the confidence to believe it


"One..."
He buries his inhibitions
He bottles up his fears
He masks the truth with his best fake smile as he prepares to come out on stage and put on one hell of a show for the world to see


"Action..."
The audience applauds his performance
But at the end of the day, when the cheering dies down and the curtains are drawn
When the stage is cleared and the spotlights cut to black
It's still just one big act

And everyone seems to love it