THE LIAR

Extract from: THE LANGUAGE OF THIEVES AND VAGABONDS


Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick...

The clock began its countdown on the night he was born - but I hear what you’re saying
What makes him so special, right?

They gave him a name he didn’t want
A name he didn’t ask for
A name by which he shall always be known and judged.
Sometimes the silence evoked by his name is deafening.

He tried so hard to make himself strong
Tried to be everything they wanted him to be.
Too fucking busy concentrating on his strengths
To notice his weaknesses feeding off them.

The fabrication of the Liar was the only way out.
This was his trump card - his ace in the hole.
By creating the Liar, he would eventually
And inevitably,
Lie to himself and finally become honest.

Nature has a cruel sense of humour.

The odyssey began innocently enough.
Plagued with the trials of school, he became strong.
He sure showed them.
The liar was a smart cookie.
Swift and crushing with his blows,
He waltzed through the tests as though he had written them himself.