When your world is built on a lie, you get good at hiding the truth.
Many people say they are trapped in a web of lies, but I am dancing across mine.
My steps don’t make a sound on the white silk.
At first, my eyes are closed.
All I can feel is the steady ground beneath my feet, because I don’t actually know what I’m walking on.
When I finally open my eyes, I realize how fragile my world is.
I can see the knots that hold it together—but now that I see them, my foot is caught in one.
At first, I pretend I’m not trapped, because I don’t fully understand what’s happening yet. And you know what they say:
“Fake it till you make it.”
Eventually, I learn I’m not the only one stuck. I wear that knot like a badge of honor, because I’m part of a community now—others trapped in their own webs. Nobody understands what’s happening but us.
Then one day, I realize the spider that built the web is trapped here too.
And that changes everything.
My badge of honor becomes a chain I drag around.
I see the web starting to fall apart, so I fix it—because falling from the web seems worse than being stuck in it.
I know I’ll never truly escape this web, because no matter what, I’ll always be tied to it.
If I somehow manage to break free one day, you will still see the fibers—
stuck in my eyes,
in my skin,
in my mind.
My foot is still caught in that knot.
No matter how far I run, I’ll always be tied to the web of lies I’m running from.
Author’s Note:
My piece “Knots” is about some experiences I’ve had with my family. It’s an emotional piece that I didn’t plain on sharing with anyone until now.
Toni-lynn fay Halliburton | 14 | Georgia, USA | @tlshadow22 on TikTok
