Have You Ever Wished to Be Treated Like a Stranger?

.laugh

A soft, sincere laugh… directed at a face we 

.didn’t know

The stranger was standing by our front door, speaking with ease, joking lightly, and receiving 

.a gentle pat on the shoulder

The scene wouldn’t have meant much… if we 

,hadn’t just been in the car

wiping away our tears in silence from his

 ،shouting

fixing our faces before he stepped out and

 .became someone else entirely

I looked through the window, and I couldn’t 

.understand

Was this really the same father whose face had ،

? exploded at us just minutes ago

The same man we thought was too tired, too burdened, too weighed down to show any ?kindness 

Yet here he was… offering it freely. Just not to us.

I used to think maybe harshness was just our fate

that because we were the closest, we had to bear it.

That smiles were a luxury only strangers could afford.

...But the truth is harsher

He chooses who gets his softness,

and who gets his raised voice.

...If only we didn’t know him

If only we were strangers too,

maybe then… we’d get a smile.

Am I being too sensitive? Maybe.

But I’ll never forget the look on my siblings'

 ,faces in the back seat

or my mother’s silent expression that simply said,

“.We’re used to it ”

All I wanted that day

was to be treated the way he treated that stranger.

.No shouting

.No sarcasm

No weight of expectations just because we’re his children

✍️

...Did I have to become a stranger 

? just to deserve a smile 

 

by Anna Alkati ✒️🖤