Mask Cracked

[Female vocals – soft, haunting intro] “Lost in the crowd… no one sees me… No future under my feet… I’m breaking quietly…” [Male rap] At the beginning of my life, I felt like I was alone in the world, lost in a mass of incoherent, incongruous people. I walked among them without seeing any future forming beneath my feet. I was sad, disillusioned, broken. Nothing could bring a real smile to my face. I pretended, I laughed, I acted out joy, but the moment the mask cracked, the bitterness of life came back into my mouth and I couldn’t wash it away. I told myself it was just a bad phase, that I wasn’t made like everyone else, that one day the sadness would fade and happiness would finally knock on my door. [Female vocals – emotional rising hook] “Dreams fading… Love bleeding… I’m losing pieces of me…” [Male rap] Later, as I stepped into adulthood, my childhood dreams had vanished. Love had torn a piece of my soul away, leaving behind fear, hatred, melancholy, and a desire for revenge. I pushed my life forward like a broken-down car on winding roads. I was exhausted. People disappointed me one after another. My trust in others faded. I folded into myself. I felt depression getting closer, failure creeping in, helplessness settling, and the eternal despair that would keep me prisoner for years. I realized that merit doesn’t guarantee success, effort doesn’t bring reward, and life is built on injustice, malice, deceit, and betrayal. [Female vocals – darker, echoing] “Shadows follow… Weight on my back… I can’t outrun what’s behind me…” [Male rap] Further down my path, I thought my past anxieties would have left me alone. But my past clung to my legs, slowed me down, threw me to the ground. I tried to look ahead like “positive people,” but new weights kept piling on: politics, career pressure, family expectations, the fear of old age. The hypocrisy, greed, stupidity, and inequality of those in power disgusted me so much it kept me from sleeping. I worked without recognition, trapped in a corporation that only cared about profit. I kept postponing the idea of having a child, afraid of not being enough, not knowing how, not being supported, and feeling like I had failed everything I had tried. [Female vocals – broken, trembling] “No promise… No light… Just trying to hold on…” [Male rap] As I moved forward, I saw nothing ahead that promised prosperity, dignity, rest, or a better future. I felt like life was ready to disappoint me again, drag me down, pull me into an empty, meaningless cycle. People say to trust life… but it never gave me a reason to. I felt like I was still carrying the same sadness I had at the start. [Female vocals – emotional, almost crying] “Still standing… Still hurting… Still trying to breathe…” [Male rap]