Jul 24, 2025
When Did You Learn to Smile Like That?
I have been staring at old photos. Versions of myself too small for memory but large enough to haunt. In almost all of them, before I grew into my teens, I do not smile. My face carries a darkness that does not beg for pity. It is heat without flame. Rage without aim. That was me. Just built from something smoldering. One of my cousins picked up on it early. He turned my silence into a stage. He…