Invisible And Alone In This Crowd

She was smiling, but it didn’t reach her eyes. The smile looked brittle and fake and half-frozen on her face. But no one noticed. No one ever would. She was alone and this was fact.

She was walking amidst a crowd of people. There were so many of them and they all had at least one companion and friend with them. These people were laughing joyously, happily, as if they didn’t have any problems, as if there wasn’t anything wrong.

Her smile quivered and faltered as she watched them, observing their wild gestures and the sparkle in their eyes and the happiness just radiating from them. And, suddenly, her eyes were stinging and it was rather hard to see where she was going.

But what did it matter anyway? It wasn’t like she knew where she wanted to go. She didn’t know any of these people, but it still hurt. How was it possible to feel so invisible and alone even while she was standing in a crowd of people?

Everyone was lost in their little world and no one paid the slightest bit of attention to her. They missed the way her smile turned to a miserable frown and the way her eyes filled with tears.

Unable to take it anymore, she ran, ran as fast as she could though she knew not where she was going. Perhaps it didn’t really matter where she was headed as long as her destination would lead her to the happiness that she was forever seeking.

Comments (from back when this used to be posted elsewhere):

Janet (&jabo):
This wrenches at the heart - you made me feel this poor girl's despair.

Freya (in reply to Janet):
Thank you :). That was what I was aiming for. I'm glad I was able to convey the feelings of the character with the words and descriptions.

*Notes:
- Sad, depressed, alone, crying girl poster is from Amazon.com