The Shore - Invisible War (Track 10)

(TRIGGER WARNING - Self-harm, depression.)
"Get it together."
The words echo in his mind, an unyielding mantra he clings to as he stands in the midst of a cheerful crowd. Friends and family gather on a bright, sunlit afternoon, the air alive with the scent of barbecue and the sound of laughter. But for the veteran, it’s as if an invisible tide has dragged him away from the shoreline. Smiling faces blur into indistinct shapes, their joy muted, distant-like spectators on a beach, oblivious to the man drowning just beyond the waves.
The harder he tries to close the gap, the more impossible it seems. Every attempt to speak feels like inhaling water, words choking in his throat before they can reach the surface. He smiles when he needs to, laughs when expected, but the mask of contentment feels heavier with each passing moment. Beneath it, the emptiness gnaws at him, a cold, unrelenting force pulling him deeper into himself.
He drinks more these days, and the cups in his hand have become lifelines-though he knows they’re dragging him down. He’s lost count of how many beers he’s had today, but he drinks anyway, searching for numbness to silence the ache. It works for a moment, blurring the edges of his despair, but like the tide, the isolation rushes back stronger than before.
He watches his loved ones with hollow eyes, their laughter like a cruel reminder of the life he no longer feels a part of. They’re right there, so close, but might as well be on the far side of the world. As he sips again, he wonders if anyone can see the man he used to be sinking into the shadows of the man he’s become-or if they’re too busy enjoying the sunshine on the shore to notice the storm raging just beyond their reach.
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