please don't ask me how i am doing

not today. not tomorrow. not for the next few days. i don't want to start bawling and spilling my guts. i want to stay strong and composed and keep my chin up, so please, please, don't say anything about my red eyes or the downturned corners of my mouth or why my voice is wavering at this part of the song or why each and every dog today is particularly cute. please nobody notice what a mess i am because i will melt into a puddle at your sympathy or even the merest inquiry. let me be a little soldier of sadness. let me get through this, get used to feeling this feeling on my own.