Knowing too much of your future is never a good thing.
-Rick Riordan
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I could never figure out why I felt that people never liked me. Is there some sort of backwards society that is conspiring against me? Actually no...I'm probably just un-likable. That's my problem, there's always a vivid detail that I'd love to exaggerate. A small speck of crazy opportunity that I can't help but wonder if it was ever possible at some point.
Well...Sort of I guess.
It was dusk, my legs burned and my chest heaved heavily as the dark misty night was illuminated by a ghostly moon. Dramatic right? But my problem at the moment was that I couldn't find them...They were missing, and I had to catch them. The shuffling of feet made me cringe, I was making too much noise- they would hear me.
This made me think- what if I could read people's minds? Would I be able to listen to their inner conversations? Could I hear them thinking their own private thoughts? What if we are being listened to right now? In the midsts of our comfort there could be a force so unbelievably incomprehensible that we barely even consider it. This chills me to my core, the though of not knowing- the thought that maybe there is a bigger picture in that grand scheme.
Mind reading is a silly thing. Something that I don't even touch upon often in normal situations. But thinking on it now makes me excessively paranoid. Imagine yourself and your mind being probed unnoticed, would you just not think? Because that's impossible isn't it? It's human nature to retreat into the sanctity of our minds to do many things. Fantasize, complain, ponder, all the things that we do privately in our own space; our own piece of total aloneness- gone. Where could we go? Or more fitting where would we go. This is of course...If we knew it was happening all along. But the truth of the matter is that we'd have no idea. There are no rumors of people who can read minds. Most people would think it's insignificant, or just plain comic book malarkey. What do they know? Nothing...They know exactly as much as we do though. There is no possible truth to be uncovered without hardcore facts or proof being presented, and even then how can we trust it? They could be living in the shadows, and yet we're to blind to even see in the light.
I couldn't see. Even the bright light of a full moon couldn't help my search. No matter though, I could hear my prey. The soft crinkling of fallen autumn leaves underneath my feet were so un-noticeable, that I could hear the unsuspecting rattling in the closing distances. Right. Behind. That. Tree. Meanwhile I had clutched onto the tough bark of a closer tree, leaning weakly on it's girth. There was an audible *Whoosh* then *CRACK!*. A small stick, one end sharp and jagged while the other was pointed with a few vibrant leaves. Even in the dark I could tell that it was a bit longer that I would want it to be. The stick had fallen directly in the spot I was standing in. It was sitting on a pair of deep shoe-shaped imprints in the ground. My eyes darted from up into the intricate array of branches to make sure none else would decent upon me, as I relaxed on the trunk of the natural giant. This also made me think.
Why didn't the stick hit me? I had stepped out of the way to lean on the tree. But what if I hadn't moved? I would have been hit right on the head. Simple right? However the rabbit hole only gets ever deeper you see. Was there a direct algorithm that made me go into that spot in the first place? How couldn't I have been in harms way? There are many stepping stools. Firstly, a seed will have to end up in that spot. It would need to survive in order to grow into an elegant tree. The tree would have to grow out the branches in the precise way that one would break on that day, that time, and in that place. Second, a human would have to be born. Me in this context. He would have to experience all of the experiences to end up at that time and in that place. He'd have to Meet the right people, say the right things, think the right thoughts, eat the right things, live the life that would lead to this moment and moments afterwards. Our human would have to be selected as the hunter, so that he can have his individual thoughts; as if it was someone else, they could have acted differently. Thirdly, the human would need to chase the same prey, and end up hiding behind that exact same tree that had grown the branches that would fall on this day, this time, and the place right where the human had been. Finally, there would need to be a secondary though process causing the human to lean on the tree. Why? Maybe to give a stealth advantage while chasing his prey, or maybe to let himself catch his breath. But the branch, that was 'scheduled' to fall on this day, this time, and right onto the spot where the human had been just standing the second before. You see it's very complex to consider, which is why you won't see many people pondering about fate in a normal conversation.
At the moment, there was a slight worry that my prey had heard the branch and gotten spooked. Another result of this 'fate'. So I peered around the tree, scanning the area where I had deducted would be a reasonable distance. I couldn't see it, well...I could see an outline. I knew if it saw me it would escape, so I crept. Sliding towards another thick tree to hide myself, while my sights were set on that one spot, that one area where our second human has decided to go. Leading our first human to the tree with the branch that was scheduled to fall on that day, that time, and on that place just a moment ago. But it was all coming to a close, as the shadow became clear enough to reveal my prey. It was unsuspecting, almost waiting to be caught by the wrath of a hunter. The night hid the growing silence as the hunter stepped out from his hiding spot. He slinked ever so slowly, the edge of surprise clinging to him. He had it, the hunter was close enough where there would be no escape. No escape. No escape.
"Found you"
The kick of a tired leg running on adrenaline shot forwards. A groping hand stretched out far, reaching violently for any target in the darkness. A toothy grin forming on the shadowed face of the hunter...
"Gotcha! you're it"
"Ah fuck..."
And that is the reason why I though people didn't like me. Because all I do is stretch the simplicity of an idea....I'm a paranoid, self-conscious, overthinking idiot.
