The Mask Of The Monster

(From Ella's Perspective)

"Oh, it's a blue sapphire," I said picking up the next stone. "You know, Linda and Mom's eyes look like these. They're kind of beautiful I have to say. Owen has blue eyes too. It's just me in the house who has brown eyes. I think Dad has or had if he is dead now brown eyes like me."

"Your eyes are like honey," he said. 

"Yeah, people say that a lot. It's called honey-brown. They look evil," I said. 

He laughed. "Don't worry. I'm evil too. We match."

I did not understand if he truly meant what he said. Was he evil? Even if he was, what kind of evil was he? Was he calling himself evil because he killed people and also his sister in his monster form? I wanted to tell him that he did not do it on purpose. He did not have any control in his monster form. But then I thought that it would be better if I did not say anything. He would soon realize that he was not a monster like the way I knew from the beginning that he was not. 

"They are the most wanted sapphire, you know, though other colors are rarer to find. Perhaps because blue ones are the most valuable. Blue was once my favorite color too when I was little. Then it changed eventually. Most of my outfits are black for that though not the ones that I've with me now. Zoe told me to bring outfits of different colors so we could take weird pictures together. Zoe's family was supposed to have a family reunion. One of her cousins was about to be there... She always likes to behave as if she owns the world and you know, she has tiktok face disorder. So, one day I told her to get help for that in front of everyone. She got angry and started to try to take me down since then. I have to admit that I was kinda rude, but well, she deserved it. She had been showing off her dresses and honestly, I don't care about any of those, but she started to blubber to me about them. My brain cells were dying... I had to do something. You understand the situation, don't you?"

"Of course, I do," he said with a serious look on his face. 

"Well, then I took those colorful outfits there to show her that we don't need to have TikTok face disorder to look good. Oh, I haven't told you about TikTok face disorder, have I? Well, there is this app called TikTok... It's a site that's used to make people weirder than usual, more stupid than usual. In TikTok, they tell sad or happy stories while a song is going to be in the background that's supposed to make the story feel good or bad or sad or whatever they're trying to make us feel. Anyway, so people also make weird movements with their hands and legs that they call dance as a disgrace to the word. They make little videos about these things and then share them with the world and for some reason, people say that's the best thing ever happened. Also, some of those TikTok users like to call this weird behavioral problem that can't be controlled a job and also make money with it. You know what? I'm really happy to be in your world and I think I'm not losing my sanity like before," I said breathlessly. "And while doing TikTok, I mean, making those silly videos, people try to make weird shapes with their noses and lips and literally every part of their face. It's called TikTok face disorder. It's serious. It makes people look more stupid. But there is help, so no worries. You just have to seek help. Anyway, let's see what the next stone is."

The next one was a green emerald. They were captivating as if it was unique and the one to catch attention. 

"It represents prosperity and growth within all aspects of life," he said. 

"Then it's definitely not for me," I muttered.

"So you know that you haven't grown up."

"From some points, I haven't. But hey, growing up is painful and stressful. I like to stay the way I am. What... Don't you like me because I'm not grown up? I'm an adult now, well according to age. Perhaps I'm not mentally... but that doesn't matter, does it? I know a lot of things. Like mature stuff along with useful knowledge."

"I like you the way you are, Ella."

"Oh, that's good. I was scared."

"You were scared that I won't like you?" he asked.

Oh shit! I had said these kinds of things without knowing again. How could I be like this? Now I did not know how to look at him. I was way too embarrassed. 

"It's an opal," I said picking up the next stone, trying hard to change the subject while also keeping my voice even. 

He did not have just one opal, rather lots of them were in different colors. I wondered why he kept those. Was that for a hobby?

"Wow! You've pink sapphire too. Isn't it cute? It kind of looks like pink rose petals, doesn't it? Pink isn't my favorite color, but Zoe's mother said that I look good in deep pink. I've bought a deep pink dress after she said that. Too bad I couldn't show her."

"Why?"

"I'm here, ain't I? I bought it the day before I came here," I said. "I took the dress with me to show her. But well..."

"It means you have it with you?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"We are going to the pub tomorrow. You should wear it."

"People would look at me weirdly. It's just a pub after all... Silly people go there. What if they think I'm stupid or something?"

"If they do, it doesn't matter. But if they say or try to do something, don't worry, they will be treated well."

"Are you going to kill them?"

"That's the least of your worries."

"Don't kill them. It's not good to kill people for a silly reason. I'm okay with teaching them a lesson with punches and all, but not killing. That's extreme."

"If you say so."

"You've changed," I muttered. "Anyway, it's tanzanite. You've lots of them, Leandro. Why are there so many stones? Wow, here is another red ruby... These diamonds are little... Look, I got a topaz! People say it symbolizes fire energy," I said. 

"It's a stone of nobility, love, passion," he said. 

"Do you believe these kinds of sayings?"

"No."

"Neither do I. But it feels good to learn about them," I said. 

I could not count how many stones he had. They were a lot in different varieties. But I knew all about them. I had read so much on the internet that it was hard to forget. But I never got the chance to talk to people about them. To be honest, I never could talk to anyone about anything. No one listened to me. 

That was the reason I never could mix with people. Some people would come to talk to me, they would behave well towards me but I never talked to them properly or thought of them as my friend because_ I could always see through them. I always knew what they were with me for. None of them talked to me if they did not want anything from me in return. 

Mom was not good at reading people. But I could. Perhaps Dad was like this. Perhaps he could see through people too. That was the thing I could thank him for. He left me but gave me a piece of his personality that helped me survive. But it was not enough for me to forget what he had put me through. Perhaps if he was in my life, I would not have to be hated by almost everyone. 

I was close to Zoe's family. Her family cared for me and treated me as their own. I was grateful for it. At least because of them, I got a slight taste of what family was. Zoe's grandmother told us once that everyone had a lucky star that they were destined to meet. Let it be a friend, or more than a friend, or someone else, they were destined to meet them. 

That day I laughed it off. I did not believe her. Perhaps because I did not know what she meant. I did not try to understand. But now, perhaps I knew what she meant.

Leandro was still looking at me as if trying to find out what was on my mind. I felt something_ kind of like a click in my head and_ heart. The more I looked at him, the surer I became...

Maybe, there was the slightest chance that he was my lucky star. 

[Please get help if you have TikTok face disorder. I wish you all a good life without suffering from unnecessary artificial diseases]