She was a force.

So resilient, that even the strongest powers of nature, were terrified to cross her. She wore her hair in messy ringlets, laughed unapologetically, rocked red lipstick, and didn’t sweat the small stuff. Nothing the universe threw at her could knock her down.

Except

there were still parts of her, that she hoped no one could see. Fragments of a woman just trying to make it through. She loved from a distance, spoke clearly with caution, only allowing herself to be vulnerable when she was alone. No one could see that she too, was human.

She was a paradox.

Each piece of her contradicting the other, and she made sure to never let anyone in long enough, to understand what lived below her surface.