Naomi meets Emily on a street. Naomi waves, approaches Emily and says "Hey Emily! How are you?". Both are smiling. Color fades from the panel as time seemingly freezes. Emily continues smiling; she thinks: "I'm not great, lot on my mind. Kinda stressed, trying to keep everything compartmentalized, but that's also mentally taxing on its own. Your question didn’t help for sure though". Emily continues smiling, the image closing in on her face, as the text cards containing her thoughts become increasingly misaligned. The thoughts continue: "Also, I don't want to take over this conversation right from the start and don't feel comfortable sharing right now anyway. I’m sure you would listen to me, but.... ugh, you just want me to say I’m fine! Right?? But then why even ask??" Color returns back to the world, with Naomi back in the frame. Both are smiling. Emily finally says to Naomi: "Great, how about you?"

How are you?

A strong indicator of great mental health is when four words can severely destabilize you.