Sometimes I Lie

by Alice Feeney

I can play all the parts life has cast me in, I know all my lines; I’ve been rehearsing for a very long time.

People are not mirrors—they don’t see you how you see yourself.

We are all made of flesh and stars, but we all become dust in the end. Best to shine while you can.

Lies can seem true when told often enough.

I became the invisible daughter.

It was Mum who wanted Claire in the first place. I wasn’t enough for her, that’s clear to me now.

Life is more terrifying than death in my experience.

“Hold on, that’s all you have to do.” Why does everyone insist on telling me to hold on? Hold on to what? I don’t need to hold on, I need to wake up.

Stars cannot shine without darkness, whispers the little girl.

We are all just ghosts of the people we hoped that we were and counterfeit replicas of the people we wanted to be.

Some people appear happy on the outside and you only know they’re broken inside if you listen as well as look.