It hurt me to find that the light in their eyes were so dim, almost gone but still barely holding on. I couldn’t figure out why my friend had to feel this pain, why they were carrying such a heavy weight upon their shoulders. Then again, I understood the mask that they finally ripped off to reveal a scarred truth, one that they deemed too ugly for the world to know. I know what that heaviness feels like, I used to carry a similar weight with me, but for completely different reasons. Sometimes, I still carry this load, as I try to get rid of the rest of it. I carry another heavy weight with me more often now, but it’s different from the first. I appreciate this new weight despite it weighing almost the same. The old weight was heavy and it slowed me down with it’s dark, shadowy tendrils throwing more weight onto my shoulders. The new weight however is just as heavy, but it’s warm and gives a fuzzy feeling, especially when I give the weight over to somebody else.

Now, that sounds rude, but really it’s not. The newer weight is different. It can be a variety of things, depending on the situation. When you receive it, it’s a ray of sunshine coming through the clouds after a vicious rain storm. It’s the rainbow in the sky, the multitude of colors expanding across the pale blue to cheer you up after a gloomy day. It can also just be a warm touch in the cold bitterness of winter. Something you thought you could get away without having, but when you have it, you realize that it was just what you needed. It can be so heavy to carry, but when you give a piece to someone else and see them react as if they received the warm touch or saw the color filled rainbow, the weight feels lighter, even if just for a moment.

So, I gave them a piece of the weight. All it took was a small act of kindness and I swear I saw a flicker of light, brighter than before, in their eyes. They looked at me with an indescribable face. For the first time in a long while, the small smile that graced their face was not fake. The once masked face was gone and I could see the emotion of happiness return to them after they had gone so long through such troubling times. I could only imagine what they had to face, watching the person they loved leave them for someone else and then deciding to constantly make sure that she was alright despite all of the hurt. They sacrificed their own happiness in that time to make sure that the person they loved was okay. They had courage that I wished to have, but seemed almost too selfless for their own good.

So then there we were at the movie theater. It was just to hang out and to get to know one another more, since we hadn’t had much time to hang out since we had met. Texting was our main way of communication. It was just like almost any other theater inside. The lobby we stood in was scattered with people trying to fill their black paper bags with buttery popcorn and their cups with fizzy pop and cold slushies. The black floor, covered in a rainbow of streaks and swirls, was dotted with spilt popcorn and small leftover ticket stubs that never made it into the trash. Thick ropes divided lines of people, all waiting to see a different film. A couple stood in the front of one, eyes and hands locked. A mother tried to calm her jumping, blabbering son as he could no longer hold his excitement to finally see this movie that all of his friends had already watched. It wasn’t exactly the first place someone would think of going to to end up in a situation like this, but it was.

When you walk into public places, you only see what the people want you to see. Their appearances don’t tell you who they are or what they’re like. Some people’s beginning behavior purposely covers up who they are. If you start talking to someone though, really talking and not just some small talk, you’ll find the real them. Someone could have everything, but still feel like they have nothing inside. The people surrounded by friends could still be telling themselves that they aren’t enough, they don’t deserve to be with people like these. A lot of people would never have gotten through this world if it wasn’t for a couple simple feelings. All it takes is a compliment or a motivational comment to keep someone running on life’s track. All it takes is handing someone a piece of the comforting weight.

Some people take this precious weight, and they throw it away. They take the opposite and let the moments of pain become a raging sea whose only goal is to destroy. Some people hold on tightly, never wanting to let go of the precious cargo to anyone. Yet, some people realize that they never had it. Nobody ever gave them a piece, so they wanted to make sure that they would hand a portion to every person they could. They wanted others to have the light in the darkness, a hand leading them through the maze, something that they never had.

It can be very difficult to hold onto, and sometimes even more difficult to give some of it to somebody, but when you do give it to someone, you'll realize that giving a portion creates a warm feeling within yourself and not just them. Coming across this light is challenging, you have to go through raging seas and battle fierce creatures. But afterwards, after battling for it, after carrying the new weight, after giving parts and sections to others, you'll always want to hold it close and dear to your heart because you know what others may be feeling, and you never wish for anyone else to feel the pain that you once did. You want to help someone through their sailing across the stormy sea and help the ones fighting the monsters. So give someone the warm embrace in the middle of their personal winter storm, and begin to help guide them across their ocean and through their journey, regardless of how challenging it may be. They’ll thank you in the long run, and you’ll thank yourself for the amazing feeling that comes afterwards.