Ode to the fools

Fool, oh fool... when will you learn? How much more price do you have to pay before you realise that the world is not what you were told it is? How many more pyres of your dreams and trust need to be torched before you will realise that you have been cheated?

You will never learn, dear. You will implicitly trust friends and their words. You will believe them, make way for them, go out of your way to help them. And one fine day you will discover that they didn't stand by you when you needed them the most. You will have fierce loyalty towards your friends: you will neglect your own comfort and priorities just to see a little smile on their faces, or to hear a little sigh of relief from them. And then, when the time comes, you will suddenly be disillusioned: those that you trusted the most will stand on the other side of the bank and watch you sink in the river. They will lose faith in you when it counts the most. At best, they will shrug their shoulders and say, "I'm sorry --- I have other work to do: I hope/pray that you will swim out".

You belong to the unfortunate lot, dear. Hatred born out of jealousy will make you feel ashamed, and you will imagine that you are wrong in having over-achieved. You will convince yourself that all your jewels are actually scars that you need to hide. You will desperately seek support, and friendship. But alas, even those who come near you to offer you support will be those who wish to make fun of you: to get a few more juicy details for the story. You cannot be angry with them: isn't anger bad? Weren't you taught that? It must be your fault somewhere... how can someone else be at fault? Go and see the mirror, and find some trace of guilt somewhere! And then, go and confess that you were wrong --- how could you ever be right? Fie on you, o trampled soul, that you dared to stick with the truth. Didn't you learn, that there is no divinity, much less anything called divine justice? Didn't you learn that the truth has no value in front of the bully? That you, because you bore the truth, will be branded as the weakest one? How many more times do you need to be slapped to remember that, moron?

People will come to you, though... in secret, in hiding, and tell you their stories. You will be there for them, listening to them, helping them and pushing all doors in your power to let them pass through the difficult times into the light. Did you ever want anything back in return? Hah! Fool, oh fool... you will remain a fool not to do so. When your turn comes, you must weep alone, howl and rant and cause yourself pain alone: and fall asleep tired after all the punishment you could give to yourself. That is your destiny, o fool!


Alas, you cannot change. Because you find the joy in helping. Because you see divinity in smiling faces, in the innocent laughter. However much your wound might be raw under the skin, you must cover it up and keep smiling. You keep smiling every time you are branded the fool. Because you know, that at the end of the day, it was worth being the fool. Forever.