See Me

For Raphe Lombardi, life hasn't been easy.

Permanently disfigured by a car crash at the age of nine that claimed the lives of his parents, set him on a never-ending path of doctors and painful surgical procedures.

"Never judge a book by its cover, Il mio piccolo," Aunt Sophia would always say, tapping the space above her heart. "Trust what's inside. Even beauty sometimes has an evil lurking beneath." Over the years her nickname for me, my little one, was shorted to Mio. Calling me little when I now towered over her five-foot frame by more than fourteen inches made it even more adorable to hear her say.

Is it best to see someone for who they truly are, or was it safer for my heart to hide in the shadows and avoid the pain?

Potential triggers: Verbal abuse/bullying, physical abuse, self-loathing, self-harm, thoughts of suicide, dealing with death of loved ones.