"Defeat never comes to any man until he admits it."-Josephus Daniels
The fool lies curled in the fetal position, shaking like a leaf under the green comforter. Tears fall sporadically and darken the green pillow beneath her. Her heart tosses and turns in her chest causing the distress she feels down to her toes.
The little girl leans on the windowsill and stares at the clear, crisp night above. She glances back at the fool and feels her own heart start to toss. She feels some pity for the fool as moonlight falls on her perfectly straightened hair. What would existence be if your entire world was falling to pieces? The girl felt the emptiness that the fool was feeling. It was all around them, between them, connecting them.
It was the emptiness of the heart.
The little girl shrugged off the thought but her mind kept returning to the fool, alone on the bed crying. How many times had she felt like that? That feeling of emptiness and aloneness, the suppression of all the fool�s fears and faux pas was the very core of her existence. Every outward expression filtered by the fool as not being socially accepted was rejected into her. She thought ironically, �I should not hate the fool, but love her. If it weren�t for everything she rejected of us, I wouldn�t be here. It�s such a shame we�re both miserable.�
The little girl sat at the foot of the bed, offering little condolences. The fool barely noticed her, not stopping the flow of tears that started at her heart and ended abruptly at her pillow. She felt lost and alone in the very world she had created, unable to function at the thought of the little girl breaking free of her prison and entering her world. Her structured walls of steel that prevented any social mishap from occurring, that prevented anything that would single them out from leaving the shell that they shared turned out to be nothing more than rotted wood. The little girl had started from the inside and society which had been bloodthirsty to turn on one of its own helped from the outside of the walls. Together they had started to tear them down, leaving the fool with no defense against the cruel elements of society and revenge from the girl. Almost frightened at the creature that was sitting at the foot of the bed, she continued to cry and wait for her elimination. After a few minutes of nothing, she began to fear something worse.
�Well, what are you waiting for?� she whispered, her voice horse.
�Hmmm?� the little girl responded.
�When are you going to be rid of me?�
The little girl did not expect such a brass comment from the fearless, worryless fool that took everything that was eating away at her and put it far away, never taking the smile from her face. The little girl was taken aback with surprise; she would not have expected defeat from the social warrior. She shook her head and spoke up, �I need you. I cannot be rid of you. Believe me, I would if I could, but I need you to keep us from becoming a recluse.�
The fool brightened a little, sitting up slightly, �You mean you will help me get things back to normal?�
�No,� the little girl said sharply, �things need to change. I will no longer be locked inside, hidden. I need to live! You will just have to find a balance.�
The fool said nothing, contemplating the price of allowing a bit of the unsociable side escape in public. The thought mortified her, shook her deep down. A sly, manipulative thought came over her. She kept her white, creamy face perfectly emotionless. The tearstains had faded quickly, leaving glittery dew on her cheeks.
�What should I call you?� the little girl asked, thinking 'the fool' was too demeaning.
�Call me Prominence,� she said calmly, twirling a bit of the copper that hung about both of their shoulders.
�I guess that I can be called Secret,� the little girl shook her head adding bitterly, �because that is what I am to the world, your secret.�
Prominence ignored the comment, shaking her hair out behind her. It fell in perfect tiers down her shoulders and slightly down her back. Her face was still smileless, glareless, emotionless. She just simply was. Period. She turned from Secret and lay her head down on the pillow, but not without first spreading out her hair into a perfect fan behind her.
�Don�t be too late now, I don�t want any circles under our eyes tomorrow,� she said with a slight condescending tone in her voice. Secret turned from the bed quickly, angry with herself for feeling sorry for an aggravating creature. She stared up at the stars, trying to sort out her thoughts. Her rage started to resurface at the thought of being taken advantage of by such a fool.
Apparently the war of power, prowess, and ultimately personality was just beginning.
J
