The Phantom Stage

It's like being left behind, you know? Like everyone else got on this amazing, super-fast train, and I was supposed to be on it too, but somehow I just… missed it. And now I have to watch from the side as other people get all the cool parts, the ones I know I could play a million times better. It’s like they’re getting the spotlight, the applause, the everything, and I’m just here, alone in my room, with no scripts, no calls, no nothing.

I try to figure it out. Was I not good enough? Did I do something wrong? Everything felt so right, so perfect, and then… poof. Gone. It’s like a magic trick, but the magician didn't make the rabbit disappear; they made me disappear. And the worst part is, I don't understand why. I was ready, I was prepared, I am ready. Why did the magic stop working for me?

But even when it feels like the show is over before it even began, I have to believe there’s another curtain waiting to rise. Maybe this quiet time is just a pause, a moment to catch my breath before the next adventure. I know how much I have to give, and I trust that somewhere, somehow, my part is still waiting. The stage lights might be dim now, but I'll be ready when they flick back on.

For my dearest Marta, whom I love so very much. I believe everything will be alright.


Stephie