"Little One" - Short Story

Welcome to the world,
Little One.
Why don’t you try on this mask for size?

THIS god, not that one.

Those politics are a little loose, gotta cinch them up a bit.
Always remember, *our* country is the BEST!
(at making money and war)
Pull yourself up by the bootstraps already!
Hurry it up, the shareholders are counting on YOU and the next sixty years of your life.

There are no questions,
There are no doubts.
There is only trust
That what we say is true.

You are most impressionable at this age,
Your brain like a sponge newly wrung.
Don’t mind us as we seek to impart (I mean cement)
Our prejudices and biases and narrow worldview before it’s too late!

What’s this?
You want to know more about this thing called Love?

First of all, remember that WE
(your parents, your politicians, your preachers and priests)
KNOW more than you.
We know better.
We’ve had YEARS of proper training
In the very serious art of
Taking things WAY too seriously.

So only listen to the steely sound of our reproving voice.
Pay no attention to the spark of * d i v i n i t y * held deep within you
From the very beginning.

You see, our Love is Jealous.
It is Insecure.
It hates change and despises growth.
Our Love is Possessive.
To love another is to attach our hooks into them,
So that the only way to separate is by tearing them apart.

To be the object of our Love
Is to be curated
>>>>>and manicured
>>>>>>>>>>and whittled down
Until the only essence you have left
Is that of an idol of our own making.

Isn’t this the same kind of Love
Proscribed by the
>>>primitive god(s)
In those
>>>primitive books
Written by those
>>>primitive people
So long ago?

No, don’t you dare.
No questions.
Doubt is sin.
The gateway to a (fictional) hell.

Get back in line!
Here, listen to the apologists,
People paid to tell us exactly what we want to hear.

No!
No questions!
Stop trying to open your eyes,
There’s nothing out there that you need to see!
Let me help you with your blindfold there.
And while we’re at it, let me take a little reason off the top.
Trim off a few inches of
>>>>>Openness
>>>and
>>>>>Exploration
For your own good, of course.

Wait!
Come back, Little One!
Out there is only heartache and loneliness, destruction and fear!
Because WE are not out there,
WE are in HERE.

United against the unknown, those dangerous paths.
(of thinking freely and openly)

Aren’t you scared of leaving us?
Of pissing off our (imagined) god(s)?

For if you leave,
If you take your reason and go,
You’ll be outcast and shunned,
Less than human,
Apostate,
Unworthy of our

UN
(meaning: no, none)

CONDITIONAL
(meaning: terms, requirements)

LOVE

But hold on a second,
Maybe I’m sounding too harsh.
Here, let me pour you a nice full glass of
>>>Cognitive Dissonance
We’ve got a great stock, a nice old vintage, plenty to go around to keep the people
HAPPY (compliant).

And here’s a box of delicious
>>>Double Standards
To compliment your drink.
Tasty little treats
That you can pull out anytime you feel challenged or doubtful.
Because remember what we taught you, from the start:

WE are right.
THEY are wrong.
THEIR customs and beliefs and texts
>>>can be criticized
>>>and scrutinized
>>>and found to be untrue.
But OUR customs and beliefs and far superior, primitive texts
Cannot come under the same criticism, or scrutiny, or (fair) evaluation.
No sir!

It doesn’t work that way.
Remember the House Rules:

Heads, I win.
Tales, they lose.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fine.
Leave.
See if we care.
That internal light won’t guide you the right way.
Pay no attention to that
>>>still
>>>>>small
>>>>>>>voice
Connecting you to an ancient * d i v i n i t y * we refuse to understand.

Love isn’t found outside this box (prison).
You’ll come crawling back here, I’m sure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gone, gone.
Little One is gone.
I tried my best to restrain them, to retrain them.
Don’t they understand how frightening the wide world is?
Love is best confined to these four rigid walls, isn’t it?

Little One left behind a mirror.
What does it show, I wonder?
One thing is perfectly clear:
I do not like what I see.