Caky Masquerade
They say birds of a feather flock together. But as I meander through every nook and cranny of life, I've began to realize that it's a lie. The majority of us craft a persona we like and continue our silly little stride. We all mosey along the bumps upon the road with the same blue smile. Then we all say hi as our goofy grins mask how we truly feel inside.
"How are you today?" we all ask. Our voices are pitifully strained.
Chances are that you'll either deadpan or respond with a squeaky "Great!"
If you're the former, your mask has probably cracked or is somewhat transparent compared to the rest of ours. And that's okay! There's always an outlier in each and every case. It's the funny work of fate.
However, I implore you to beware of your honesty lest you fall prey to foes. Vulnerability is such captivating bait to surreptitious schemers.
Allow me to tell you a delightful story about a rather vicious snake. It managed to escape such a cleverly constructed trap and lived to tell the tale!
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When you picture a fool, what comes to mind? Do you see an outspoken idiot who always believes that they're right? Or do you see a flailing comedian whose jokes always fall flat? Perhaps you see a certain wallflower enshrouded in mystery.
As for me, I see none of these! I firmly believe the biggest jesters in life are those who are kindhearted but naive. Yet, they display it for the whole world to see. What a catastrophe!
I knew of such a girl. Let's call her Ophelia, shall we? I'm not particularly good with pseudonyms but it'll have to make do.
She was a complete, utterly stupid fool!
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Poor, poor Ophelia had chosen the wrong person to confide in. She was at the point in life where the only thing that ruled her routine was rapidly waxing stress. So when a seemingly sweet boy had asked her how she was doing, she broke down and told him all about her distress.
The hapless boy did not get a clue. He brushed past her plethora of woes and simply told her "I have something to tell you!"
His next words were something she had ached to hear from anybody else. But it was rushed and laced with intentions that were insincere.
"I love you."
He did not offer her any solace nor did he acknowledge her struggles. There was one thing he sought and one thing only. Superficial company and pretty arm candy.
She had never shut somebody down so fast. Those words were brute and crass.
Ophelia simply went back to sobbing about her unbearable stress.
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Did he like her? Well, in a sense. A shallow, silly type of sense. Her altruism and trusting nature was painfully clear to see. She was quiet and spoke to almost nobody else. Ophelia was a pretty girl that would be easy to keep to himself!
Unfortunately for our tactless boy, he had failed to acknowledge any other facet of her personality. But he'd eventually find out the rest.
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It's not as bad as I've made it seem. Ophelia did one thing and one thing only. She hurled sharp edged words brimming with brutal, piercing honesty. But she did it gradually and ever so slowly. It was so subtle that the boy was sure that he was surely going mad.
Whenever he showed any hint of affection, Ophelia bit back with a laugh. She'd accuse him of having no boundaries and everyone else would follow suit. Though they wouldn't say anything, they'd glare and sneer at him too.
She'd try to reenact his confession just for the heck of it. Whenever he'd complain about his day, she would proceed to simply say "Okay." and tell him to find a date.
Ophelia eventually got tired of being in his presence one day. But her vengeance wasn't complete. She still wanted her cake!
So she sauntered around the campus and strung a series of faithful friends to follow along. Her adorable little phalanx of guys that were loyal and strong. And she made damn well sure to always walk past the boy who did her wrong.
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Her mask was finally being to solidify and the boy was questioning how long his could possibly last.
It didn't last long. He lashed out in agony but his cries were drowned by her bitter, angry siren song.
When he looked in the mirror, he could no longer distinguish his mask from his face. Which side was the reverse of the coin and which was the obverse? It puzzled him to no end. For all he could see in his cracked reflection was a crimson colored clown whose face paint was rapidly crumbling down.
Tears upon tears began to flow and all were bright red from the gaudy eyeshadow. Red was it avatar and red was the seal. Even the cunning playboy could no longer tell what was real.
The next day, his plight was displayed on the news for all to see.
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Ophelia beamed from ear to ear. Her doe eyes and soft spoken demeanor painted her as an overly trusting fool. But now it was quite clear to me that she would not hesitate to gouge my eyes out.
An eye for an eye and we all go blind. But some people didn't even need their sight.
That snake was quite wry and was bound suck anybody's psyche dry.