The Mask Explains

My righteous friend, I see you are in a vengeful mood. You are also in a confessional mood. I like that too, I like the fact that you have the courage to sound like a man sometimes. Please do understand that I am not an evil Mask, I had told you that I am just a Mask. Also remember that you are not a victim, you chose to hand over the threads of your life to me and chose to become a spectator in this game. So please do not repent now, too late for the tears.

I am willing to talk, I am willing to explain since I do not want you to writhe in pain and lie uneasy in your grave. Unlike you, I was not born out of an atom or a cell or flesh and bones. I was always there, existing like the whiff of air, weightless and yet so pervasive that I existed even before men and women came in to being. So now that you know of my plans for you, you must acknowledge that you are not alone; I lived inside another soul before I entered you and another and many more. So take comfort in the pains of mankind if that helps. I can not die with you, because I am no more just a part of you, I am your soul.

I love children; I love the innocence and the brightness they bring about in this universe. I can not see a more powerful physical force hurt them, so I reach out to help them. How important was it for your parents, your teachers and your well wishers to educate you to stand up for yourself. It was your weakness that forced me to house myself with in you. Addiction, they say, is bad. You should have heard it earlier, you should have said “Thankyou Mask, I am fine now and I have learnt my lesson and I will live my life on my own now”. But alas, you took the short way out; you saw value in using me even beyond you needed me. That was your greed, your insecurities and I simply obliged.

You were a sweet little boy my friend. You used to fear making new friends, for the fear of rejection. You used to hold a cricket bat in your little hands, shaking in your shoes as the hard leather ball was hurled your way and yet you wanted to be the best sportsman around. You wanted to prove to no one and everyone that you were the real deal and you used to nearly close your eyes as the hard red ball came whizzing, sucking you in. Then one day, the hard red ball hit you so hard, you bled and you cried all day long. Remember that day, I was not a part of you then, I was a silent spectator. Your courage left you that day, flowing out in spurts together with the blood out of your mouth. I wish you had known how separate blood from spirit, you did not. You wanted to play again, but you were too scared and then you called the little kids, much more harmless then you were then to play with you. As you called them to play with you, you called me too and I came. What a wonderful time we had with the little boys, you hit them all around the ground, you laughed and you thought that you had become the hero then. I laughed too, because I was inside you and I was your mask of bravery.

How then, my friend, can you blame me? I was just doing the service I was asked to do. I stayed true to my existence, you flinched. I was willing to go, you were reluctant. Power, usurps common sense as it did with you. Between now and then, I have seen you rise with a thousand sunrises and yet you never had the courage to look at the mirror and ignite your own being. Tell me my friend, what more could have I done for you?