That Guy’s Hope

…a contemplative parable of chiseled masks, blind hope, and whichever ego cracks first…

There was a guy, whose name was Guy, and he lived very happily in his little bubble, floating on the surface of life, unbothered by the looming depths threatening from below.

One day, feeling utterly bored and a bit indulgent, while scrolling, Guy spotted a girl he felt instantly drawn to. Hope was her name.

Guy started flirting with Hope, and the flirt soon turned into a chase.

Hope found Guy to be very nice and fun, but she just wished he hadn’t tried so hard to impress her. She already liked him, and in Hope’s book, that was enough.

Because, you see, Hope was exactly who she was, and the sheer being of herself pulled Guy in like a moth to the light.

Sadly, what Hope didn’t know was that, even though she liked him, Guy didn’t like himself, so he created all these stories to impress her and keep her interested out of fear and self-imposed inadequacies.

Unfortunately for Guy, in addition to open hands, Hope also came with boundaries, so she let Guy play his little games, but not at the detriment of her integrity.

However, as the weight of the stories grew heavier and harder to carry, it became impossible for Guy to maintain the mask he carefully chiseled, so the more he liked Hope, the more he disliked himself, and one day… the mask cracked.

Afraid of being exposed, Guy panicked and abandoned Hope.

Hope felt immensely sad because she couldn’t understand why Guy couldn’t just be himself. And even though Hope felt fragile, deep down she knew that it had nothing to do with her or who she was.

Time was slowly dragging its feet, and Guy did everything in his power to distract himself. Yet Hope, lingering in his heart, haunted his thoughts and dreams.

One day, Guy decided he couldn’t live without Hope. But since his ego would not let him surrender – for the ego always sees surrender as defeat – Guy hid behind new masks and reached out to Hope anew.

And even though he never really believed he could have Hope again, she sensed he was on the other end, so she simply stayed true to herself, as she always had.

However, the more they engaged, the more frustrated Guy became, as he was convinced that Hope was available to everyone except him. Meanwhile, Hope stood firm in her intent, blindly trusting that Guy would finally feel safe enough to let himself be seen.

This vicious cycle seemed to repeat itself endlessly, until eventually, Guy resented Hope so much that he just renounced her, all the while Hope remained expectant, with her door open, just in case he might come around someday.

And this is the story of that Guy who lost Hope, and Hope that never really gave up on that Guy.