There was once a man, a great one, that was an accomplished member of his community. Everybody knew him. Then one day, someone was hurt, and people began to believe that this man was being blackmailed. However, this man loved the night life. Illegal. But as a pillar of the community, he could not let anyone know this deep, dark secret. So, one day, he became a monster. Again, and again. After a while, this man transformed into this monster more and more often, and the man was afraid. So afraid, that a few days later, he disappeared, never to be found again.
This man's name was Henry Jekyll.
This story was my favorite classic in college, back when I majored in literature. I opened the book, the compiled version of all of Robert Louis Stevenson' s greatest works. And I prayed so hard in the back of my mind, that there would be a clue somewhere. And it opened up to the story. The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This got me thinking. What if these people were secretly not the innocent girls they seemed to be? After all, I had this neighbor back in high school, who scored straight A's all the time and always walked our dog, smiled at us whenever she saw my family and offered to water our plants whenever we went to Guam during the Summer holidays. Then, when I was studying at her house, I heard the police knock on her door, and revealed a search warrant. I watched on in horror, only to see secret stashes of dexamphetamine under her bed, in her toiletries closet and at the bottom of her laundry basket. That day, my perspective of the world changed. If I didn't know what she was really like, how would I know whether a kind stranger is really trying to help?
Now, I don't even remember her name, but that one transgression stuck out poorly in my mind.
Be careful, you know, no matter how much good you do in your lifetime, you will offend someone. And that someone will never forgive you, no matter what you say.
