All Mask, No Face: Prologue – Training for the Role

Prologue – Training for the Role

There is a place, a theatre, that everyone visits more than once in their life. Most don’t remember it and even fewer remember it as nothing more than a dream or nightmare. It is a place of learning and understanding, happiness and delight, fear and dread, but most importantly, it is a place of pure persuasive truth to challenge how a person views the world so that they can see it in the correct light and improve their lives. Of the few who remember the theatre as it was, even fewer want to help in its mission. That small minority of helpers is a special lot, one of whom is about to face a challenge of his own today.

The young man’s name is Dario, the son of a couple who manages a charity for the homeless who cannot care for themselves. His mother handles the business and office side of things while his father is a doctor and cook. Dario is responsible for running around the building to deliver mail and news, helping with stock, and caring for the patients. It’s what his parents did in their youth, so he does the same, except he doesn’t know which of his parent’s positions he’ll take over and prays that he knows in due time. As he runs in and out of rooms, he unexpectedly finds himself in the theatre.

“Woah! How did I get here?” Dario wonders out loud.

The part of the theatre that Dario finds himself in is the guest hall, a large spiraling room whose ceiling cannot be seen filled with lights of all colors, stagehands going about their business, and a seemingly infinite amount of halls and rooms each decorated differently to suit every purpose. An usher with a smile that spirals around his face takes Dario to the auditorium he is meant to go to where his questions will be answered. Along the way, Dario sees other strange people who have abnormalities such as one person having wings for arms, feet, and a head with eyes on their body, another person who has the face of a lion, lamb, and human all in one, and another who manifests from the shadows and turns into many kinds of birds to carry all kinds of luggage around.

Once they get to Dario’s auditorium, the usher bows his head and says, “Please, enjoy your stay.”

Dario tepidly walks into the auditorium whose doors close behind him. The lights turn on and focus on a figure that manifests itself out of the light and dark on the stage. This figure turns into an image of a man with white skin and whose clothes and hat are colored red, grey, and gold just like the circles in his eyes. He wears a long coat and outfit that looks similar to that of a circus master.

“Who are you?” Dario asks.

“I am the Stage Master, and you, my dear Dario, are here for the opportunity of a lifetime,” I say with a smile.

“What do you mean?”

I explain to him what this place is and then elaborate on his purpose here. “You are here to help yourself so you can better help others. On this stage, how you view reality will manifest and your troubles and woes will be laid bare so you can deal with them.”

“You can help me help others better? You’re an answer to my prayers then.”

“My boy, I answer all prayers. Now, let me reveal your troubles and view on reality, so you may become the man you are meant to be.”

The walls, ceiling, and floor disappear into particulars of light, and each corner of the room contains each part of the building where Dario works. In each part, he sees a familiar face.

“Mom! Dad!” he says to them.

“They can’t hear you. These are merely projections of them. I know your parents are great role models in your life and fulfill the role I’ve given them well. They are servants after my own heart, serving others while expecting nothing in return as all who work for others should,” I say.

“My only worry in life is not living up to their expectations of me.”

Versions of Dario appear in each room, messing up, and causing people pain in the worst scenarios. The lighting in the room distorts and changes as Dario’s parents harshly scold him in an out-of-character way causing the real Dario to become upset.

“Stop doing that!” I say to one of the lighting technicians far above us.

This technician’s head is the only thing visible. He looks down at us with his gold and grey eyes. His golden hair, though long, hardly hides his face and mischievous smile.

“Haha, sorry. I just thought he should see that,” the technician says dishonestly.

“Watch out for people like him,” I say to Dario while pointing up at the lights. “Even if they appear to make sense or be like angels, don’t listen to them if they tell you something that goes against what is true and right. Now, focus on this reflection of yourself. What do you see?”

Dario looks at himself in the mirror on the wall and is astonished. Half of him is his usual green-eyed, brown-haired self while the other wears a mask and whose body is made of disjointed lines of color. His mask mirrors Dario’s strong face, has golden eyes, has and a star on its forehead. As for the rest of his body, it’s all various kinds of colors and frilly like the outfit of a fat circus clown.

“What is that? Why does part of me look like that?” Dario asks.

“You are divided between the true idea of yourself and your view of yourself. One part sees you as you truly are while the other sees you as nothing more than a strong-faced clown that pretends to be a great helper,” I say.

“Well…I do act like a clown that’s only pretending to be a shoulder to lean on sometimes.”

“But that’s only sometimes. You pick yourself up after you fall every time. Don’t let the failures of your past define your future.”

“If you answer all prayers, could you answer one that I’ve been praying for so long and every night?”

“No, I cannot make you perfect. You will only receive that at the end of your life.”

“Why? I thought I was supposed to be someone to rely on, not someone who messes up and gets things wrong.”

“Your mistakes keep you humble, relatable, and human. They push you to become better than you are, keep you praying, and close to me. That is why you can never be perfect in this life.”

Dario looks around at his view of reality around him. He focuses on his many faults until waving away at them as if he could push them away with his hand. He then looks at the times he made people smile and when he made his parents proud. One moment in particular catches his attention. It was when his dad accidentally broke two family heirlooms by knocking them to the ground. After he picked up the pieces and got yelled at, he began constructing something new piece by piece every night since then.

Dario approached his dad and asked, “Are you and mom going to be okay?”

“Yes, we are. Why?”

“She asked really talked to you for days.”

“I don’t blame her. This is a special family heirloom that’s been passed down for generations, but she just needs time to get over it and I need to make up for what I did.”

“How can you do that? The two glass birds are beyond repair.”

“Beyond repair, yes, but not completely useless. See?”

Dario’s dad reveals to him the finished results of his month-long project, a glass statue of a family of birds made from the shattered remains of what he broke.

“Wow! That’s amazing!” Dario said.

“It is. Always remember this statue when you feel like your life is broken or that you’ve messed up and can never recover because the worst mistakes can become the start of a beautiful end.”

Once the finishing touches were done, Dario and his dad presented the statue to his mom who was overjoyed at the reconstructed statue. Dario pulls his mind out of the memory and smiles.

“Okay. I accept that,” he confidently says.

“I am overjoyed to hear that!” I say as I hug Dario then present to him a new image on his stage. “Many of the people who work here are people like you who want others to accept the truth about reality and make their lives better as a result. You could be doing what I was just doing for you, but only if you accept.”

Dario thinks it over for a second before accepting.

Again, I hug Dario and then say, “Thank you, so much! I knew you wouldn’t disappoint me.”

“So, when do I start?”

“You can start tomorrow. For now, rest up and return to your responsibilities at the charity. You have a big day ahead of you.”

The floor opens up like a door. After he falls through it, Dario finds himself exiting the room he was once in at the charity as if everything he went through happened in the blink of an eye. He looks around in disbelief and starts to wonder if what he just went through was actually real until he sees a card in his hand that he was unknowingly holding. It says, “See you again soon!” in colorful letters and has my face on it. Comforted with proof of past events, Dario smiles, puts the card in his pocket, and runs off to continue in his duties with a lighter heart and a happy hope for the next day and what may come next.