There are people everywhere I look, and they are all different. I watch them from behind my mask. Young people, old people; fat people, thin people; beautiful people, ugly people. So many of them, and all different. They chatter and smile, they mutter and frown. The street sounds like Babel must have done after God destroyed the tower. I groan and cover my eyes, trying to block the scene from my mind. The sights and sounds are painful - almost too painful for me to stand. If only they were all just like me.
"Are you alright?"
I look up. A young woman is looking down at me, an expression of concern on her face. I readjust my mask, giving her a shy smile. "I'm fine. Thank you."
"Are you sure? You just looked a bit, well, odd."
"Odd?" I struggle to keep my temper.
"I'm sorry. I just meant that you looked ill. Do you need any help?"
"No. Just some space." I want her to go away, to leave me alone so that I do not have to be forced to look at her differences.
She gives me a strange look. "Alright. If you're sure."
"I'm sure. Thank you." I change my mask to try and reassure her. She walks away, looking back over her shoulder as she goes, unsure but unwilling to be more involved.
I watch her vanish into the crowd, lost to my sight. Then I close my eyes and go back to my dream of a world where everyone is the same.
