The Mask of Humanity

WARNING: If you’re in a dark place, mentally speaking, I DO NOT recommend reading this.

It’s been said that humans wear three masks. One they show the world, one they show their friends and loved ones, and one that no one has ever seen. I was raised thinking that all I should do is smile and listen to my parents. It didn’t matter how taxing the job or chore was, I did it just to please them and avoid conflict.

A smile never left my face. What I felt didn’t matter, everything I did was for them and none for me. I’d agree to anything they asked me to do, no questions asked. I thought to myself that pleasing other people is the only way to survive this predatory society where the meek and the voiceless are pushed to the side, never to be heard again.

“Ouch.”

I sucked on my thumb and went to the sink to wash my hands and the knife that I used to prepare breakfast. I looked at the time and saw that I’m already running late, so I rushed to prepare for school saying goodbye to my parents in the process.

While I was walking on the way to school, I pondered upon the reasons why they push the values of their generation. They just seem to like holding some kind of control in your life, essentially siphoning the aspects of life you can get a hold of. At least, that’s what I think.

I can’t say it aloud, though. Just the thought of it is enough to make me shiver from fear because of the punishment that might be waiting for me at the end of that road. Sure, I have voiced my opinions, but was it worth it? In the end, it’s still just an opinion and they might just ignore it. Worst of it all, they might brand you as someone who’s unwilling to follow them and make your life a living hell.

Such is the fate of people who stray away from the path laid down by society.

My classmates greeted me the moment I entered the classroom. When I sat down, my “friends” surrounded me to talk about mundane stuff that happened during their weekends. “Friends” is a hard word to define. Just at what point does a person become a friend from an acquaintance? Interpersonal relationships have always been something I struggled to understand.

“So, how’s your weekend?”

A classmate asked me.

“Nothing much really happened.”

I smiled.

“Ehh? Nothing? Like, nothing, nothing?”

This guy is annoying.

“Yeah! Like nothing, nothing.”

I upheld the smile my parents taught me to never cast aside.

People want control. They want a doll that will follow their every command. They don’t really care how your day went; they care more about how they’ll use that information to gain some kind of power over you. It’s a disgusting tactic but it works. In fact, it works so well that it’s etched into our own DNA.

A baby that doesn’t know anything, but cry understands that by doing so, they’ll receive food from their parents. They’ll take this information and use it until their early years where they think crying will still deliver the same response only to be met with disappointment as during this time, their parents will start disciplining them saying that they can’t have everything they wanted.

It’s also at that very moment where a child will start to think outside the box. They’ll formulate a different way so that they’ll get what they wanted without crying, and that’s where a lot of parenting differs. Other children benefit from bargaining, others from doing chores around the house, others from having good grades.

I wasn’t blessed with any of that. Even if I did my best, all I get is a seal of approval from them. The moment I asked for something, their faces warped into a mosaic of unrecognizable emotions. That’s when I realized I might be doing something wrong. So, I stopped doing that approach and tried doing something else.

“Good morning. Take your seats.”

A commanding, feminine voice echoed throughout the room.

“Oof, teach’s here. I’ll see you around, Aki.”

“Yeah.”

I replied.

Once everyone has taken their seats, our teacher took attendance and started the lecture.

Our school is just a normal high school, there’s not much to talk about it. We don’t really have any sports team to be proud of. Our literary and arts club have their own worlds and don’t really enter contests, and the teachers don’t really care much about the students aside from teaching us what’s in their lesson plans.

For example, our homeroom teacher, the one teaching right now. She’s been rumored to have inappropriate relationships with her students. But when she’s in front of us teaching, she goes from being flirty to acting like a decent human being.

Nothing is as malleable as a human being’s personality.

As our teacher starts scribbling stuff on the board, I pulled out a notebook from my bag to take down notes. This time, however, I’m not paying attention to what’s written in front. I’m just… going to write it down, without thinking about it. Now that I think about it, am I disobeying my parents right now? They asked me to pay attention in class, but I’m doing none of that right now. Am I entering the rebellious stage that I heard of?

Hmm, probably not. I’ve only disobeyed them two times in my life; both happened today. That doesn’t mean I’m going to become a rebellious teenager, though. I’m still doing my best to meet their expectations. Hmm, expectations? What do they even expect of me?

I pondered for a bit, but no answer presented itself. Maybe they didn’t expect anything from me in the first place.

“Aki, can you answer the problem on the board?”

Our teacher pointed at me. It was just a simple problem, so I head over in front and answered it quickly.

“Thank you, Aki. You may take your seat.”

I nodded and went back to my seat. The class went on for another hour with her just calling random students and making them answer the problem in front. There are students who couldn’t answer the problem, that’s when she told them to pay closer attention to class.

Kind of like looking for a student to tell off just because we know about the stuff she does out of school. The pettiness of people can really get this low, huh. She’s not helping her case either as this only makes her more hated by the student body.

“Hey, Aki! We’re going to the cafeteria!”

A friend of mine called me over.

“Wait for me!”

I ran towards them to catch up.

Interpersonal relationships are almost always a requirement if you want your life to be easier. One of the first things your parents tell you when you enter school is to make friends. Why? Well, it’s because those people will have your back whenever you’re in danger or in need of help. A very big difference compared to playing this game of life solo.

In short, they’re disposable. Once they’ve done their jobs, it’s time to move on to new ones. People come and go; nobody is permanent in this world. Sometimes, people just need to go. Cut off all relations and start anew.

We bought our food and headed towards our “secret base” which is just the school’s rooftop. One of my friends has access to it. Favoritism, he’s one of the favorites of our homeroom teacher so that’s probably why he has the key. It’s also one of the main reasons I’m still friends with him. Being close with him makes my school life easier as well.

Take what happened earlier, the problem presented to me was much easier than the next one. She probably meant for that to happen as the next student she called was the one who started spreading the rumor. The evidence was a photo of a male student entering the car of the teacher and allegedly went straight to a motel.

Now, the important part of that argument is that the motel part is alleged. The only evidence for that one was an eyewitness account of another student. However, that student’s word is treated as gospel in this campus as she’s on the top of the social hierarchy here. Even the teachers listen to her when she has to say something.

Suddenly, an announcement from the school.

“Calling Aki, student number 38F, please proceed to the principal’s office immediately.”

“Hey, hey, hey. What did you do this time?”

A friend of mine poked fun at me.

“Nah, he’s probably called for something else. Aki doing something bad? Insanity.”

Another one laughed.

I silently stood up, said my goodbyes, and headed straight to the principal’s office. I knocked twice and twisted the knob. The principal greeted me and motioned for me to sit on one of the two chairs in front of his desk.

The moment I sat, a police officer entered the room and sat opposite of me. He smiled and greeted me.

“Hello, Aki. My name’s Crowe, I just have a few questions for you.”

***

I just clocked in for work when we received a distressing call. Apparently, her neighbors were murdered. I immediately hopped into my car and headed straight to the scene. I pulled out my gun the moment I arrived in front of the premises just in case the perpetrator is still around.

I slowly approached the front door and checked if it was locked.

It wasn’t.

I slowly turned the knob and pushed the door while aiming with my gun. I was greeted by three people lying face down by the dinner table with stab wounds all over their body. No sign of another person within the area. The TV is still open, but besides that nothing seems out of the ordinary.

A few seconds later, my team arrived and assisted my in preserving the scene before the forensic guys arrive.

I asked one of my colleagues to interview the surrounding families and see if she can get any information out of them. While she did that, I walked around the house looking for anomalies. There are three victims: A mom, a dad, and their kid. I’d wager the kid’s around 7 years old or maybe even younger.

The murder weapon evades us. We couldn’t find it. I head upstairs and checked their rooms. Everything seems normal.

Wait.

This house has three rooms. One is a master’s bedroom and the other two seems like a normal bedroom meant for their kids. However, I can only see one kid here.

Something’s wrong here.

Suddenly, a radio message.

“Detective, we have more information.”

“Meet me downstairs.”

***

The police officer in front of me smiled and reassured me. After a little small talk, he asked me the main question he probably wanted to ask me originally.

“Do you know anyone that might bring harm to your parents”

“Harm to my parents? Did something happen to them?”

My heart raced and my hands started shaking.

“No, no, no. We received a call from one of your concerned neighbors and we got a little worried.”

Even at this point, they’re trying to control me by hiding information from me.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know a single person that might hurt them.”

I lied.

“Hmm, perhaps outside of the family circle. But how about within the circle? Maybe someone who cooked breakfast today?”

“Are you accusing me that I might attack my parents?!”

“It’s not a ‘might’, you already did.”

He pulled out a knife and placed it on the table.

“You might be very familiar with this.”

This detective is not half-bad.

“I’m very familiar with that, Sir. That’s a kitchen knife.”

“That you used to murder your whole family.”

“Excuse me?”

I stood up from my seat.

“Next time, you might want to wash it thoroughly.”

He flipped the knife and there were small bloodstains near the point where the handle and the blade connect.

“Are you saying that I used this knife to kill my family?!”

“Yes. And these bloodstains? Pretty fresh if you asked me.”

“How can you be so sure that those are my parent’s?”

“Wanna bet on it?”

He smiled a cunning smile. Like a chess grandmaster knowing he already cornered his opponent. But you’re mistaken if you think I am cornered.

“No.”

I smiled and ran towards the nearest window.

They’re not going to catch me alive.

I jumped out, making sure I go for a dive headfirst. This 3-storey fall should be able to end all the systems that restrain me from becoming who I truly am. The freedom I longed for, the freedom I deserved, finally at hand’s reach in these last few seconds of my existence.

I closed my eyes the moment I felt the wind on my face. I heard screams from the people outside. They’re probably looking at me and my ascension from the shackles of society. In awe that someone like me had what it takes.

Ah, freedom. I can finally taste it.

Freedom. Here I come!

“…huh?”

I’m pretty sure I landed. Am I in heaven? In hell? I sat up and looked around.

“This is…”

“The school.”

The detective from the principal’s office appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

“Did you really think you can escape me?”

He sighed.

“You might think that this, as a last-ditch effort for freedom, was genius. But I had you mapped out ever since I met you. That’s why I set up the safety air cushion you’re sitting on right now.”

Unbelievable…

“To die is to be free, to live is suffering. Guess where you’re at right now.”