There was once a boy who grew up believing that he was a marionette that had come to life and been transformed into a real boy by a fairy. But as he grew up, the boy was reminded over and over about how broken he was. A real boy would be like this, not like that. And as this boy grew up, he felt like there was no point in trying to do anything with his life, because of how broken he was before the fairy turned him into a real boy.
"If only I were not so broken," the boy thought, "people would love me, but I do not know how to fix the broken parts of who I am." When the boy tried to show how he really felt, he found no sympathy, and soon learned that the only way he would be accepted by others was by being what they wanted him to be. So he wore a cursed mask given to him, that would allow him to be anyone else on the outside, and people slowly came to like him. Not for who he was, but for who the mask allowed him to be.
So, no longer believing in his own value, the boy tried to prove that even though he was broken, he was still a good boy. He both hated and accepted that what he wanted did not matter. So he went around doing good deeds for people, he was kind, and he was selfless. But deep down, he knew he was broken, because where his heart was supposed to be, he felt empty. He knew it was still there somewhere, because when the sadness came, it ached and hurt. No matter how bad things were, though, he could not cry.
"See," he told himself, "if I weren't broken, maybe I would be able to cry, but I can't even do that right."
Then, one day, the boy met someone who helped him rediscover his emotions again. It was scary, because after being empty for so long, having them back was so much all at once. But it was freeing, because at last, the boy felt like he was just a little less broken than before.
So, the boy followed his friend wherever they went. They were inseparable, or so he thought. His friend gave him permission to let the mask slip off a little around him. The boy gave his friend everything he could to show his love, because in helping him fix a little of what was wrong, the boy felt as if that friend had saved him from being broken forever. When things got really bad, the boy even gave his magical warding stone to his friend.
Yet, one day, this friendship went from the boy's strongest foundation to his biggest weakness. The boy had been helping his friend out regularly, but his friend had been stressed out by demands from everyone on their life. But luck took a turn for the worse for the boy, and he found out that he was going to need his warding stone in order to make a dangerous trip safe for a little while. So he asked his friend if he could meet to discuss his situation in person, he was surprised to hear his friend accuse him of being unreasonable.
"If you don't want to discuss it in person, that's fine, but I just need my stone back for a few minutes, I promise I will let you keep borrowing it afterward." The boy insisted.
"I've had enough of this! You always make things about you! You can take your stone back, but stay away from me and my family!" His friend said in fury, and with this declaration, ended their friendship. If the boy had believed himself fixed before, then this heartbreak did far worse. His entire world was reeling.
He could not see how his actions had been so offensive as to warrant the ending of the friendship, but he got back his warding stone. Yet for whatever victory it was to have his stone back, it was not enough to protect the boy from the curse of the mask.
The mask's curse tore the boy's mind apart. The curse reminding him of the truths:
- What you want doesn't matter
- You are not worthy of attention as you are
- People only like you for what you can do for them
- You will not be missed
The doctors had spoken to him. "But fairies are not real, you're just a regular boy. You have never been a marionette."
No, there was something too wrong with him for him to just be a regular boy. He went back to bed, and rested his head there, drifting off as he tried to stop existing, just for a moment.
