The Hidden Path (WINNER OF THE BEAUTY AWARD for Spiritual)

Without Warning

The only way to have a friend is to be one.
- Emerson

Diana and I were sitting on our chairs in class, having an animated conversation.

I was telling Diana about my latest philosophical discoveries with regards to Schopenhauer, whose book I was in the middle of reading.

Diana responded enthusiastically to my philosophical findings, eagerly discussing their implications in our daily lives.

At least, this is what I thought should be happening. In reality, I was trying my best to infuse others with the passion I felt for philosophical topics, but with little success. Actually – scratch that. I was having absolutely no success at all!

Which baffled me every time this topic came up in my life. Personally, I knew. I felt. I was sure that there was something waiting to be discovered, which was hiding behind our day-to-day lives. Something, that could help me understand the nature of our existence.

Since this is what our lives consist of - our existence - I simply did not get how somebody could possibly remain untouched by the prospect of unraveling its mysteries. . .

"Schopenhauer tries to prove that it is better to do good than bad, using philosophical means only. Which is tricky, because in philosophy you can not simply assume that doing good is good, you have to prove it through logic."

Diana gave me a rather blank look. She probably wished she were somewhere else – preferably far, far away from me - at that moment. But she just didn't understand. . .

"You know, his work practically makes it a natural law. It implies that we human beings would be stupid not to strive for good. Which is important, because there are other opinions out there, which favor power over good, for example. Therefore, if everybody understood these principles and acted upon them, we would have paradise on earth. "I tried again to evoke some kind of positive response from her, even gesturing with my hands and feet - well, not quite, but almost – to stress my point.

"Hi Mia, hi Diana!" A familiar voice suddenly interrupted our intense exchange (for me, anyway).

"Hi Sofi!" Diana almost shouted, sounding entirely too happy to see our friend. She hastily twisting in her seat to greet her.

Sighing deeply in defeat, I turned my head to greet Sofi, as well.

Who simply went past us to get to her place and sat down.

"Hey, are you alright?" Diana immediately asked, her eyes trained on our classmate and her voice full of concern.

Curious, I turned in my seat to look more closely at my friend and partner in crime and was shocked to see her slumped down in her seat, her face buried in her hands.

She was the picture of misery.

"Good heavens, Sofi. . . what has happened?" I exclaimed, bewildered.

Sofi raised her head, her bloodshot eyes a sure sign that she had been crying.

"He. . . he. . . he broke up with me!" She suddenly sobbed, tears slowly trickling down her face. "Marti broke up with me yesterday!"

She briefly swiped the treacherous liquid from her face with the help of a handkerchief, blew her nose noisily and quickly resumed her former posture. Most probably in an attempt to hide her blotchy face from the rest of the class.

I was stunned. Why would Marti do something like that?

"He was not good enough for you, anyway!" Jul announced, sitting down on Sofi's other side.

"But why?" I voiced what was going through my head. "I thought you guys were happy together?"

"He. . . he said. . . that we are too different." Sofi hiccupped, her shoulders shaking lightly.

"Too different? But in what way?" Diana enquired. I moved back with my seat a little, to allow her a better view of our heartbroken friend.

"Because he is from the countryside and I am from the city. He attends a secondary school, while I attend a high school." Sofi cried.

"But that's no reason to break up!" I exclaimed, taken aback by Marti's stupidity.

"Forget him! He's not worth it!" Jul declared firmly, putting her school utensils on the desk with a bang. Which caused us three to flinch in unison at the unexpected, loud noise.

"But I love him!" Sofi wailed.

"You know what – I shall take you to the bathroom, so you can wash your face and we shall talk about it after school. . . deal?" Jul suggested emphatically, standing up. Putting her arms around Sofi, she pulled the defeated looking girl out of the chair.

"Okay," Sofi agreed in a small voice, letting herself be dragged towards the classroom door.

"What do you think?" Diana asked me after they had both disappeared.

"I don't know. I don't understand it. I think Marti is just being stupid," I responded pensively. I honestly would never have expected it.

"Boys!" Diana and I complained at the same time, sighing.

Life's dramas. And looking behind the scenes, so to speak, does not appear to be too easy, either. . .
As always, I love your thoughts (and votes :) ).