No one really talks about functional loneliness. The kind where you're present but not felt. You go to work, you reply on time, you smile when you're supposed to. And yet, you feel like no one truly knows you. Not fully. Not deeply. You're surrounded, but you're not held. You're visible, but you're not known. And the worst part is you have gotten so good at surviving like this that you don't even know how to ask for more without feeling like a burden. So you keep moving. And the ache just becomes part of the background noise you live with.