Monday, April 2, 2012

Through the Villian's Eyes


 
The world holds such color.  With such a vast amount of hues, it almost seems an endless horizon of possibilities.  Then again, if you look at it from another angle, the human eye only sees the one shade lucky enough to be reflected, despite the many hundreds of colors that failed to meet the mark and show the world what they had to offer.  Life can be like that sometimes.  So many lives pulse through the veins just beneath the earth’s surface, yet only a few solitary souls make a reflection that the human eyes can see.  If you look at it that way, your horizon seems a little cruel, doesn’t it?  Try and keep that in mind, if you really want to understand what I’m saying.  No, I'm not a deep thinker, really.  I’m not even complicated.  And don’t bother asking who I am.
 You already know me.
 That’s right.  I’m your worst nightmare.  The big bad wolf – come to eat your pigs or your grandmother, depending on which moral you feel like learning today.  If that’s not good enough, I’m also the evil witch that cuts your hair of freedom or gives you poisoned apples of jealousy.  That’s right, I’m the evil stepmother too; the one that made you a slave in your own home.  If I ever offer to help you or act like your friend, don’t be fooled.  My motives always work towards a single being, and that would be myself.  I’m the creator of conflict – the sole character that no story can be without.  I am the villain.
 Don’t look so scared.  I left my spinning wheel at home today.  You’re the one that asked to see me, remember?  I’ve already lost, and it seems you’ve got a sick desire to kick the loser while he’s down.  You want to understand me?  Don’t be arrogant.  Your story hasn’t earned a master villain of complex mind that takes effort to comprehend.  This fairytale has just one villain, and its a pretty simple one.  I already told you who I am, but if you really want to understand, just look at who I was.  Ask me that, if you want.  No one else knows better than I do, anyway.
 Still want to know?  Fine then.  I’ll tell you, since you asked.  I was that beggar you just ignored on the street.  I was the boy in the market that all the other children teased for having crooked legs.  I was the girl that never had a father to quiet my cries at midnight, when the nightmares closed in.  I was the knight that never had a lady to fight for.  I was the princess who lost her lover to someone just a little fairer.  I was the farmer who lost his living to drought.  I was the widow that could never quite stop regretting my beloved’s passing.  I was the thief trying to feed a starving family.  I was the innocent framed for murder.  I was the one weeping beneath your window, begging the heavens for a better life while you slept on your bed of luxury.  Don’t look at me like that.  It shouldn’t surprise you so much.  All big bad wolfs start as abandoned pups.  It’s the simple truth of life, just like those colors I told you about that never get reflected.  That’s just the way it is.  Simple facts.  Show me that happy ending or yours, and I’ll give you a glimpse of my wretched beginning.
 No, I don’t want your pity.  Give me sympathy and I’ll give you another taste of my apple.  Sure, I started innocent.  Don’t we all?  But that’s the sort of thing I let go of a long time ago, when I took on the dark crown and evil smile act.  It’s too late to act charming towards me.  I’ve well earned these chains you put on my wrists.  I deserve a lot worse, but you don’t really have the stomach for it, and let’s be honest: this is a children’s story.  Real justice is too graphic for the genre.  Since shackles are the worst I can get, I’ll take them.  Just lock me away and forget I ever rested after the "Once upon a time" of your fairytale.  No, I don’t want your compassion.  The person I was might have taken it, but I certainly won’t.  If you really want to do something for me, than I’ll ask you for one favor.  Just one, then I want to get locked in that tower you have just for people like me.
Give the next beggar a little money – a smile wouldn’t hurt either.  That’s right, I want you to pick up that stray puppy and take him home before he grows into something nasty that will haunt your children.  Stop fretting over the villains you’ve defeated and take care of the ones that haven’t found their weapons of malice yet.  I don’t care how dirty that little girl’s clothes are; if you see her crying, then at least ask her if you can help.  You’ll be the only decent human being she meets, I guarantee.  If you don’t reach out, no one will.  Think of it as saving yourself, if you can’t get enough motivation from the idea of putting a fallen soul back on their feet.  You don’t want to fight the sort of villain they’ll become.  Take it from someone who knows.  The desperate always become the devious.  Little hurts of childhood form the grand characteristics of evil that make children shudder.  Of course, small gestures of compassion can go a long way too.  If you can’t afford to save, then just inspire.  Show them a little kindness, and they won’t forget that the world has that sort of thing.  That’s all there is to it, really.  It isn’t complicated.  Just a simple cure for the dastardly villains of the future.  You can start with that crippled boy sitting on the street corner behind you.  That’s right, the one with the crutches and the sad eyes.  Yes, he certainly looks pathetic, doesn't he?  Don’t let it fool you.  He’ll be the conniving wretch that wreaks havoc in the lives of the next generation.  He’s got that look of bitterness lingering beneath the despair in his eyes.  That sort of thing will take you a long way down the path of sinister intentions, crooked legs or no.
Trust me, I know.

No comments:

Post a Comment