A DAUGHTER..
"When a daughter is born, the world changes even if no one notices".
She arrives with tiny hands and eyes full of dreams, unaware that life wont always welcome her with open arms.
Her smile is innocent, her heart pure, but from the very beginning, she is taught to be quiet, to be less, to never expect too much.
She never craved grand gestures or impossible dreams. Her greatest wish was for small, precious moments:
her mother's comforting hug, her father's genuine smile of approval, and a quiet space where she could simply exist free from anxiety, expectations, or criticism.
But life rarely gives her that.
She grows up with questions shes not allowed to ask. With feelings shes not allowed to show.
She learns to carry her pain like its part of her identityquiet, invisible, constant.
She tries her best in every possible way.
She puts in a lot of effort in her studies in the hope that her grades will make her worth loving, that she might pay attention to a number on a piece of paper. However, when she fails... Even by a little...
Their expressions of disappointment say it all. She didnt try hard enough.
"Maybe she is just different from other daughters." They dont see her staying up all night, hiding her tears between pages.
She swallows her cries, and they don't hear them. They are unaware of how hard she fights just to stand.
Because they see her smiling, they believe she is fine. But they dont see her pillow soaked in silent tears every night.
They dont see the cracks behind the smile, the weight she hides beneath her calm voice. She helps others, listens to them, and makes them feel better but no one ever pauses to ask her, "Are you alright?"
"Do you require assistance?"
"Do you ever feel alone?"
And even when it breaks her heart... She remains silent. Because that's what she's been taught.
That her pain is a burden.
That her voice is irrelevant.
That her presence must always be light, gentle, invisible.
People converse. "She's too sentimental," "She's too dramatic." Shes too childish. Shes too little. They only see her in a smiling way. They never actually see her and never asked what's disturbing you.
And at times... Her heart is broken most by those who once held her close.
The ones she loved the most are the ones who forgot her the fastest.
Despite this, she never detested them. She simply vanished into the background in a whisper.
Because daughters... they dont explode. They dont scream.
They simply shatter quietly.
In the nooks. In silence.
In shadows. She never asked for diamonds. She never wanted the world.
All she ever longed for...
a person who would look at her and say, You matter.
Im proud of you.
"I am here."
But the world was too busy.
Too preoccupied were her family members. And love was always just one step away. And when she leaves...
She is known as "the kind and caring girl" to people.
The quiet one,
The obedient daughter.
But no one knew the battles she fought behind closed doors.
No one knew how brave she was to carry so much pain and still offer love.
A daughter isnt just someone who cooks, cleans, and listens.
Shes a heart.
A soul.
A storm.
A prayer in motion.
She was never weak.
She was just tired of being strong for everyone else.
And in the end,
She didnt die because of illness.
She died because of neglect.
Because of the absence of love.
Because no one noticed how much she was breaking.
She deserved more.
More love.
More time.
More care.
And maybe... just someone who would have held her hand and said, I am always here for you but actually no one really cares!
But the world didnt.
And so she left it quietly, gently... just like she lived.
Written by: Abeeha Maryam