Stage Fright

She stands, blinking under bright stage lights.
The spotlight hurts her eyes.

The rest of the crowd chatters happily, blissfully ignorant of her presence.
The noise hurts her ears.

She glances at her friend, hoping to find something she could consider an anchor amongst the sea of people. Her friend looked away.
This hurt her heart.

She picked up the mic, screaming into it.
The scream hurt her throat.

All eyes finally on her, she stuttered out pleads and cries. She wants to be seen and heard. She wants to know she's loved.
The screams fall onto deaf ears.