Blind or Lying

I've been living a very seclusive life in the past few years, partly because of my fear of contact, but also because I rarely feel like I enjoy the presence of the people around me. I've recently discovered how to put it into words; I'll try to tell it as a story.

The Wanderer and The City

Once upon a time a lonely wanderer came to a city in search of likeminded people. But the wanderer was surprised: the people in the city all walked around with their eyes closed. Curious, the wanderer walked up to one person and asked: "What color is the sky?" The person briefly opened their eyes and looked. "Green" they replied. The wanderer was astounded. "It's clearly blue! You knew, yet you tell me a lie without even thinking about it?" The wandered talked to more villagers, and they all looked away or told him lies. After a few minutes in the city people became upset that the wanderer was disturbing their peace, and a mob formed and chased the wanderer out the gates.

Several days later, the wanderer arrived at another village. "If I act like I'm blind and tell lies, maybe I'll have enough time to find someone who tries to look and tell the truth..." the wanderer thought. "But they will also act blind and tell lies, so they will be hard to spot." But the wanderer knew that such a person would be recognizable at first sight, even if they where wearing a mask. "Even if I find likeminded people and try to fit in... If I look away I will eventually forget. If I tell lies I will eventually believe them. This is not a good solution." After walking down several streets the wanderer had an idea. "I'll try to look for people who see and tell the truth, and invite them to walk with me. That way I can talk to likeminded people and not fall into the habits of the villagers."

And so the villager went from street to street, asking honest-looking people if they would walk with the wanderer. A few people came and they talked about the world and about the life in it. Over the years, the wanderer went from city to city and met the most interesting people. Some in passing, for a few minutes, others several years as they joined the trail of the wanderer.

The wanderer never became fond of the villagers, but the conversations on the way more than made up for it. "This is a life worth living" the wanderer thought.