Oz

Like the wizard from Oz he had spent years creating illusions to prevent anyone from seeing who was really behind the curtain. Pulling on levers, twisting knobs, pushing pedals all actions that led to the deflection of close attention.

Walls were easily breached, regardless of the material they were built with. Illusion and sleight of hand along with a soft shoe or two were the tool he used to keep people guessing reducing the risk of him having to put it all on the line.

Early on in life he had given his heart to easily. He made assumptions about love that could not be validated by real life experience.

He had assumed each time he presented his heart to one he loved that they would cherish the fragility and uniqueness of what he was sharing. To his dismay his beliefs were without merit.

Others did not seem to recognize nor acknowledge the tenderness with which he treated his own heart but those that had been offered to him. When the time came to return a heart to someone he had always made sure to return it in similar if not better condition than it was in when he received it.

His heart though had always been returned to him in all manners of disarray. The outside was worn, tattered, with fingerprints and scuffmarks all over it. At times he was unable to even positively identify the heart has is.

So over time he had begun to weave illusions about himself. Flashing lights, a bit of smoke, special effects used to there full potential. He managed to keep the audience looking at his left hand while his right kept his heart hidden beneath his magician’s hat.

Recently though he had begun to notice disturbances in his illusions, as if someone was peeling back the protective layers to see what was really going on behind the scenes.

He was not sure how to respond. He had been protecting himself for so long that trust was no longer a big word in his vocabulary.

He was facing a dilemma. Develop newer illusions that would prevent even the brightest of minds from slipping behind the scenes. Or continue with the current illusion allowing for the possibility that maybe if someone took the time to see what lie behind the curtain they were someone worth knowing.

Only time would tell.