She has her mom’s caramel color skin and father’s big brown eyes.

A sweet smile and nice thighs.

Boys stop and stare, men whistle.

The earth seems to move with each step she takes.

Her hips sway side to side.

From the outside, she is a beauty.

Long black hair that falls to her shoulders.

Girls want to be her, boys want to have her.

But the mirror tells her a different story.

The layers of pain she hides is visible to her when she looks in the mirror.

The shame she carries like a wieght around her shoulders.

Is she really beautiful?

When she looks in the mirror all she sees is what she hates.

Her eyes are too brown, her complexion, a little too caramel.

Those nice thighs, they seem too much.

She looks fat.

That mirror is screaming that she is fat.

There is no way anyone would want her. No matter how many boys stare.

They must be blind, she thinks.

What beauty is in her?

She closes the bathroom door.

She doesn’t want anyone to know.

This is her little secret.

Added to the layers of pain she already carries.

She pulls out her razor.

Careful not to slice too much.

She doesn’t want a repeat of last time.

Luckily she was able to hide that one from her parents.

Or maybe they were just oblivious.

This is the only way she can escape the pain.