Social circus

He really did not like small talk, fake smiles and questions like ”How are you?” that did not really allow for an honest answer, but if you do not play along with the social circus, which is what he called it, you very soon became an outsider, the odd one out that nobody asked after. To begin with it made him angry; he was angry with everyone, he hated the world. After anger came the sadness and the loneliness, and the last stage seemed to be acceptance or at least resignation, but he still felt that he walked through life with a question mark in his hand. He did not understand other, and they did not understand him, and as long as they left each other alone, he was all right. He often wondered about others’ need for changing him, their need for sameness. It seemed to give them some sense of security, albeit a false one. On the other hand the other never could understand why he refused to conform.

The years went by, marriage, children, divorce, much like the life of anyone else really. Except for the odd one out stamp that people seemed to see on his forehead. Then one day he met a woman who had also struggled with that same problem all her life. She also hated the social circus and had gone through life with a question mark in her hand. When they tried fitting the questions marks together they became a heart.

Inspired by The Daily Post: Circus