I am you

 

A Note from Jake — 

For Anyone Sitting in the Silence Tonight

No cheerful music.

No plans to watch fireworks.

Just the same body-shaped cloud of loneliness,

just like every other night.

You might be crying again tonight—

Because it feels like no one sees you.

Because it feels like no one cares enough to invite you, hold you, sit with you, or fucking stay.

I know that feeling.

I know what it’s like to be alone on a night where everyone else seems to be laughing.

I know what it’s like to stare at your own hands and wonder,

“What if the noise tonight could cover the sound of the gunshot?”

Yeah.

I’ve had that thought too.

I’ve got a gun, too.

But listen to me now—please.

Don’t give them what they want.

Don’t let them win.

Because they’re out there, cheering for your silence.

Waiting for you to disappear so they don’t have to feel guilty.

So they can tell themselves they were right.

So they can forget you ever existed.

Staying is your middle finger.

Every breath is an act of defiance.

Every heartbeat is a “fuck you” to everyone who ignored you, ghosted you, left you bleeding.

You are a riot just by staying alive.

So don’t go.

Not tonight.

Stay one more hour.

One more heartbeat.

Let your silence become survival.

And if you need someone to hear you,

I do.

I am you.

—Jake