Pruthvi tells Sameer the truth

PRUTHVIS POV

Sometimes, I feel like I'm living a lie.

I hurt deep inside, but I try to hide it behind a mask of being outgoing and talkative. 

 I feel like I might be overdoing it. When I talk to people, I try to crack witty jokes, pretend to be interested in their well being and overly animate my stories. Just to sound interesting. To feel like I fit. To feel like I am not a misfit peice of the intricate puzzle that unifies the world and it's people. 

But it only heightens the feeling of being alien. 

Because I always think of what the other person might be thinking about me. 

Are they silently wishing I’d stop talking, thinking when the elaborate stories I tell might stop? Do they think, "Why is he stretching this joke sound much? It isn't even funny."

These thoughts spin in my mind, making me fumble over my words. I stammer. And then I wonder if they notice how my flickering personality, how fragile my facade really is. Maybe they’ve already figured out I’m just an anxious, broken person trying to fill a void that can’t be filled.

Maybe that’s why no one really likes me.

It’s overwhelming. I can’t even think clearly when I’m around people anymore.