All around me there is darkness. No one here to see my tear-soaked face; or hear the screams of desperation. The dark is quiet when I am silent, but when I make noise it bounces around like I am in a sealed box. Where am I? How did my life get this bad? I can't breathe, the darkness is strangling me trying to get me to just let go and stop trying. "Why don't you just give in? It's not like anyone cares about you." The darkness slips thoughts in to my brain. "No you're wrong, someone out there has to care... right?" I don't even know what to believe anymore.  The darkness then goes from a pitch black to a dark gray and I notice there is someone else in this wretched world.  He calls out in the (slightly lighter) darkness. When he turns around he sees me and we talk for a while, but then I notice at I don't hear the darkness as much anymore, which can only mean one thing. It's with him. And sure enough the next "day." I find him with a knife and he stabs me in the back; over and over and over telling me I am nothing and that I don't matter. While I know I should run from this boy that is hurting me I don't because if I do then I will be alone so instead I smile because then I will seem strong.  Eventually he stops and then the darkness goes from a really dark grey to a dark grey and someone else shows up. For just one moment there is hope that she could be a true friend, but then I see the whip. Even though there is even more pain than before I still smile. The process keeps happening the world just barely gets lighter and more people with weapons are added. They are not real friends and feel they can dispose of me at any moment, but I still smile because if I act normal they won't leave me alone again. This happens every single day one way or another. When I noticed the world getting darker I still smiled. Then I realized that I did not need these people, so I stopped smiling. When they told me I was nobody and I was an incomplete and didn't matter I cried. I had stopped smiling. Many people noticed to but no one cared enough to say anything other than are you ok and when I said yes they just walked away. Eventually the world I was in felt as dark as space. And when I felt ready to just give in and move away the world brightened up. I was so used to routine I didn't even notice the fact that there were three girls. They come over to me and when they relize that my body and heart is bracing for impact they cry, give me a hug and tell me that my life matters and I am a human being and I am someone. They clean my wounds and bandage them. They give me hope and a book to read daily ( especially in times of need.) These three girls really care about me and for the one of the first times in almost three years I really truly smile.