Ok boy good writing. What works here is the honesty about the split. The “perfect dreamland,” the “virus I call reality,” the two selves, “the one that believes” and “the one hiding in the shadows,” all of that feels painfully familiar in a very human way. You’re not pretending confidence arrived cleanly. You’re showing the mess of becoming visible while still wanting to disappear.

And the ending is strong because it doesn’t turn into self-hate. “We’re not enemies, we just forgot we’re the same” is a beautiful line. It gives the whole piece warmth and movement. Not a victory speech, not a collapse, something better: a real attempt to bring the split parts back together. You just have to believe more in yourself