I know how to tell the safe version too well

Dear Delyara, It frightens me sometimes how practiced I am at this. The safe version. The socially smooth version. The version that includes enough truth to sound real and omits enough truth to remain safe. I can tell it almost automatically now, which may be the saddest part. There is no longer much friction in the editing. And because there is little friction, other people rarely notice that anything meaningful has been removed. That skill has protected me. It has also made me lonelier than I admit.