The sadness without a name

She is only eight years old,
but there are days when the world feels too heavy.

She smiles when she is supposed to,
plays with the other children,
and nobody notices that something hurts inside her.

At night, she hugs her teddy bear
while tears fall in silence.
She doesn't know why she is sad,
or why she feels such a deep emptiness.

She thinks that maybe it is her fault,
that there is something wrong with her.

But there isn't.

She is just a little girl
carrying a sadness far too heavy
for such a small heart.