🎃 Imagine this. A diamond heist. Dressed in your wife’s black leather and the mask of an illusionist, you’ve impeccably plotted your way into the museum. Somersaulting past ancient artifacts, stopping only to admire a statue or two. On silent feet, you arrive at the display you’ve come for. Encased in glass, there lies a mirror. The reflection inside is rightly yours, and yet you’ve had to immorally earn your chance to claim it, to have and to hold it. Your team works quickly and quietly. You’ve made it unscathed. Almost. Mere feet away from the light of freedom, someone you recognize steps from the shadows, and cruelly removes your mask, revealing your true identity before you intended. Threatening to reveal it to a wider audience before you intended. For all that you are a mastermind, it seems you are not unoutsmartable. And yet you cannot bring yourself to give the mirror back. Your getaway bike begins to leave without you, sparks flying as the tires try and fail to slow down for you. You have frozen in this moment of indecision. But your hesitation was a decision all its own. This person may try to beat you to the punch by revealing your true face to the world. Or perhaps your best laid plans will still fall into place like dominos after all. However, that’s a risk you no longer have the luxury of taking. And so, it’s a good thing you always keep a pack of matches on you. 🎃

-submitted May 14, 2023