Operation Centuria: The First 25

Day 6: Toothpick "Behind a Large Shadow" by Pauline

You probably don’t know me but I know you.

She walks alone in the dark. Taking slow delicate steps, her features remain unafraid of the shadows. She nears a small house. Gracefully raising her hands, she reaches out for the door knob. The cold metal comes in contact with her skin and she turns it ever so slightly. She pushes the door open. Silently, she ascends the stairs and enters a room. She finds him there - her mission, her goal. She whispers in his ear and he wakes up, the little boy. The two unite and by the look on his face she knows that she will be remembered forever.

If there would ever be a book written about me, that’s how I want people to describe me. I want them to think­­ that I’m the super cool mega ultra awesome mysterious girl who will be remembered forever. 

Pfft. But that’s impossible.

Who in their right mind will pay attention to me when I have a sister that they can adore forever?

Children all over the world know her. Though I often call her “Colette”, she is more famous for another name —- the Tooth fairy.

Yes, you got that right. I am the infamous sister of the Tooth fairy. And if you’re still interested (which I highly doubt), my name is Pickle.

There is just one word to describe me: LESS. That’s how much I’m worth when compared to my sister.

She’s undoubtedly prettier, nicer and better. She’s everything that I could never be. Standing next to her, I would always be the “lesser good”, the “second choice” or just plainly “the shadow”.

You can imagine how horrible that feels.

While she’s the center of everything, I get to be the dorky nerd who spends all her days with a book or a sketchpad. Though for me being talented is a good thing, people always get the wrong impression. They question the way I think, the way I dress and what I do with my life. They always tell me that I am wasting my life on “things that don’t really matter”.

People keep telling me that I so lucky to share a bathroom with such a legend. Could they get any crazier?

They don’t know what how it feels like! They don’t know anything!

The worst part is… I can’t blame her for anything else other than being flawless. She has always been so kind to me. She’s always looking out for my welfare. She’s there to call me down for dinner before our parents get angry. She even shares her pot of candy during Halloween, for crying out loud! She’s that perfect.

But that little tidbit never seemed to decrease my resent towards her. It’s like “I like you but you make me feel awful and that kind of makes you a bad person” thing.

That’s why I immediately moved out of the house when I turned 18. I no longer wanted to be insignificant. I want to feel something and to really have an identity to hold on.

Also, I wanted revenge.

I was naïve back then. Though I didn’t really hate her, I had this strange urge to get back at her for something. I hatched a plan to bring her down.

She was already at the first year of her “genius” project back then. She called her project “Collect-a-tooth, Earn-a-penny” which didn’t (and still doesn’t) make sense to me. It’s about giving away coins to children who lose their teeth. Seriously, what is that about? How can that possibly protect the children if they have to lose their teeth to get money?

But of course people didn’t care. They were blinded by her perfection. They supported and promoted her project.

Wait. You must be confused about the project-project thing. Let me explain.