RIFLE RANGE BOY: Not all that glitters...

Who has the last laugh?

Everyone is responsible for himself. The world outside there is just out to make mincemeat out of you. They would entice you to tread on the wild side just to get you off balance. They would appear casual just to let you lower your shields. They would encourage you to indulge in social lubricators just so that you downgrade your security level. They would talk dirty just to get you all excited. Then you let your hair down. That would be the hay that breaks the camel’s back. And the world will have a field day. And you would dig, your grave to bury all the good things that you took a lifetime to perfect. The dream that kept you awake comes crumbling like sandcastles that get washed away just like that. People would pry with judgemental eyes. Who cares if they would not be qualified to cast the first stone.

Why do they bother? They were not put a pedestal to be praised to high heaven. You were. Nobody told you, but you were the icon that many schoolboys envy. Yours was a success story to emulate.

The media is brutal. Like vultures, they scavenge for victims, slowly see them die, wait patiently, peck how much they want and fly away to find other easy kills.

Beware of the smooth talkers. Not all those who make the most noise are empty vessels. Some may be slithering serpents luring you to take a bite at the forbidden fruit and condemn you to eternal damnation.