So this is life. This is all there is to it. You wake up in the morning. You put on your best suit. You comb your hair and wash your face. You put on your bravest face and you walk out of the bathroom. Then what? A barrage of unpleasantness, a tidal wave of insults, and a salvo of agony.

You ask yourself if it’s worth it. You wonder at the possibilities the future can bring. You pretend that better days will come. You look around, trying to find traces of beauty. You go to sleep dreaming about a better tomorrow. You cling to your hopes and dreams, as if they could be your savior.

Tomorrow comes and it bears no gifts. You set up your own defenses to escape reality. Your drugs. Your religion. Your exercises. Your prayers. You distract yourself thinking reality will play into your games. But the protections set in place are a facade. Life will not give you the privilege of pretending. And soon your facade melts away, and you again are exposed.

You spend your time thinking of a way out. Can there be an easy way to escape this cruel experiment? You fantasize about that chandelier in the ballroom. You wonder if it can hold your weight. You look at that intersection as you cross the street. You wonder how painful getting hit by a bus would be. You look out of that hotel window. You wonder if the fall is sufficient for a quick death.

It can’t be that easy to escape could it? What is it that stops you? Life would never allow you the mercy of leaving. But it would never let you know why you cannot leave. You’re sure you exist for a reason. That you’re destined to make the world a better place. You tell yourself that you bring joy to others. But life throws around sprinkles of doubt in your mind. It takes pleasure in knowing you would never know your place in the world. That you will never fit in.

Life takes pride in every additional layer of torture. It has been scheming for millennia. Each iteration leads to another layer. The cruel experiment continues indefinitely. And we willingly take part of it with no objection.