The Girl in the Old Photo

Dear Delyara, I saw an old photo of myself today and it hurt more than I expected. Not because I looked younger. Not because I looked prettier. But because I looked open. There was still softness in my face. A kind of trust. A version of me that had not yet learned to brace for disappointment. I miss that girl. I do not even know if I want to become her again, or if I just want to know she was not lost for nothing.