What does this quote inspire in you, or remind you of? It could be a personal situation like the crimes committed by a family member. It could be a political, business or corporate situation. It could be a social or environmental issue, that you feel strongly about. In short, it is about the proverbial elephant in the room. 

It was an obvious fact and glaringly clear to anyone who thought to notice that his loneliness was something that to him was the one thing that was crushing him.

Everyone thought of him as a ‘nice’ guy. He was intelligent, affable, generous and had demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to family.

He epitomised the very elephant in the room.

No one engaged him in conversation. Instead, they avoided him, if they did engage with him they found it easy to move away, find a reason to break from him and move onto someone more interesting.

They didn’t know what it was he was doing on his own again. A hospital visit, a time when some succour would have been helpful.

Instead, they pretended he was ok. He was always ok. It was like a mantra they believed he recited and so they too held the same belief.

Inside he cried, his loneliness building every day, he feared it would reach a point where he would forget the reality he lived in and sink into the mire of his own solitude.

But when he was approached up went that familiar cheerfulness and he’d again pretend to be ok. Sometimes it was easier than talking about himself, as it was he knew most people accepted him as he was, and that didn’t draw any of them closer to him.

Written for: https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2018/05/04/reenas-exploration-challenge-week-35/