I wanted to be asked a better question

Dear Delyara, A lot of people asked me how I was today. No one really asked me how I was. That’s the difference I kept feeling all day. “How are you?” is often just social maintenance. The answer is already built into the question. Fine. Busy. Tired. You? We all know the script. What I wanted was a better question. What’s been heavy lately? What are you not saying? What are you carrying that no one can see? What kind of tired is this? No one asked that. So I stayed on the surface where everyone is easier to handle. I don’t blame them. Most people are surviving their own lives too. Still, I think a lot of loneliness begins in conversations that never really open.