Cold air hits the cheeks of the boy as he runs from his dreams,
The laughs of the other kids come from behind him,
*****, ******, ******! Those are the words he hears as he runs faster and faster trying to escape.
Some of his friends fall off the tightrope, some hold on with only one finger.
But he keeps running and running and running.
He takes one last look behind him and witnesses one of his best friends slip and fall towards the Earth.
Falling, falling, falling but no noise ever rises from below. That was when the boy changed…

Every morning had been a struggle, but now it was as if he had the strength to do anything...he was invincible. But his friends were not... His friend’s ghost, the one he had lost, the one who had fallen. It was as if he appeared in every dream, his eyes so full of pain as if he was still alive. This broke him apart inside, but the mask on his face kept his family and other friends satisfied. But every once in awhile, his mask would crack and his friends would ask, “Are you ok?” And his response varied from yeah, I’m fine to of course you know me...
But
He
Was
Lying,
And
Nobody
Could
Tell...
But one day he decided to throw away that mask and just live his life. His friends saw his pain and instead of laughing they comforted him. He slowly shedded all the weight he carried on his back like the titles of ******, ******, ******, ugly, none of that was true and he knew it...

His friend’s ghost visits him less now, but when he does there is so much less pain in his eyes. *Instead there is happiness, because his friends haven’t fallen with him.