Wildfire~Smoke and Mirrors (Book Two)

Introduction

Dear Reader,

This is the second account (technically it's the sequel)-or 'tale', perhaps-of a series of my life stories. All of them are true the truest extent.

But some so-called "truths" aren't true. They are nothing but Smoke and Mirrors.

And that's what this book of mine is about. Smoke and Mirrors. When I was younger in this story, I believed everything almost, not questioning enough. The only thing I trusted was my senses. And most of those senses were emotional senses.

In this account, I couldn't even count on my actual senses most of the time.

Many things happen in this story such as a return of a friend I knew so long ago that perished in a fire but somehow survived and was then living with a Fox Kingdom, someone's sister, the treacherous Thunderblood, and a few tricks up metaphorical sleeves. Because if some tricks were up animals' sleeves, I'd be a bit unnerved.

There are many different ways to say something is Smoke and Mirrors. Fake. Lie. Deception. Deceit. Secrets. Betrayal. Duped. Tricked. Bamboozled. Hoodwinked. Turncoat. Treachery. Untruth. Mendacity. Flimflam. Sleight of hand. Razzle-dazzle. Hocus-pocus. Unclear. Cheat. Scam. Pulling a quick one. Illusion. Double-dealing. Fraud. Imposture. Shell-game. Stunt. Chicanery. Dishonesty. Machination. Crafty schemes. Cunning plots. Plot twists. Snekdraw. Feint. Surreal. Ploy. Ruse. Gambit. Furtive. Maneuver. Artifice. Guile. Devious. Stratagem. Double-crossing. Intrigue. Capture. Trap. Chicane. Surreptitious. Counterfeit. Hiding. Darkness. Isolation. Mystery. Confidentiality. Private. Converter. Stealth. Classified. Top secret. Clandestine. Silence. Hypnotic. Hushed. Magic tricks. Seclusion. Concealment. Solitude. Befuddle. Con. Hoax. Confuse. Tomfoolery. Delude. Baffle. Poppycock. Boondoggle. Humbug. Sarcasm.

If you just skipped all of those words and phrases for Smoke and Mirrors, you had better go back and read them because all of them describe this book. But there is a quote that describes the phrase "Smoke and Mirrors" best of all.

"What the eyes see and the ears hear, the mind believes."

That's a quote from Harry Houdini, by the way. A famous magician that lived in the late 1800s. Being a magician, he knew what was fake, and what was real and he could even describe it.

Harry Houdini's quote perfectly captures the point of something being nothing but Smoke and Mirrors.

For those who don't know the exact meaning of something being Smoke and Mirrors, it means something looks like one thing, but it is, in fact, something else that is meant to deceive you. Of course it is.

My Reader, you may have an idea of what Mr. Houdini's quote means. But you can be so wrong just as I was as I thought I knew what the future held in it's paws. Especially in The Dark Forest.

If you have ever played chess (if you haven't you really should, maybe we could have some tea and play chess. I'll beat you, regardless) you should know you have to practically see into the future, or more likely, guess your opponents next move constantly. Or next ten moves. And if you think you are winning, and start getting cocky, in reality (a wretched place) you are about to lose. You winning was an illusion, and your opponent is victorious. You have been outwitted. 

The point is this;

You never know when you are going to be tricked, you never know who the could be the trickster one day, and the most important bit, you never know what the trick is. Everything is just Smoke and Mirrors, no matter who you are, and where you roam.

Sophia

P.S. I need to find my fountain pen, I put some note in there when I was younger, and it is quite important.