Nobody took you all at once. You were traded away in pieces — so slowly that everyone around you adjusted, and only you kept the inventory.
The Yes. You used to say it before thinking. Yes to the walk, the trip, the last-minute dinner. Now there's a pause where the yes used to live — a silent check with your body first. "Let me see how I'm feeling." "Probably not, but you go ahead." The yes was the first thing traded.
The Plans. You were the one who made them. Now you're the one who apologizes for them — the reschedules, the early exits, the logistics of your own body. You became someone who manages expectations for a living.
The Patience. You were not a short-tempered person. Then came the flares, the fog, the exhaustion — and you heard yourself snap at people who least deserved it. I've become mean, and I hate it. You'd never say it out loud. You've thought it.
The Strength. You were the one people leaned on. Now someone hands you the glass of water and the pill, and you look away — because being cared for, when you used to be the one who carried, lands like a small defeat every single time.
The Middle of the Room. You used to be in it. The dance floor, the kitchen during the party, down on the floor where the kids are. Now you're at the edge — the chair against the wall, the back row, the early ride home. Present, technically. In it, no.
And the person in the old photos. Moving through a day without calculating it. Standing anywhere, sitting anywhere, saying yes to anything. You've been grieving that person like they're gone — mourning someone who never got a funeral, while wearing their face.
Here's the thing nobody told you, and it changes everything:
You didn't change. You adapted — to a problem everyone was looking for in the wrong place. The person you were isn't gone. They were mis-aimed at.