Ellie...

That night, the festive atmosphere was spectacular; everything—absolutely everything—was an invitation to enjoy myself and let go: everything I had imagined and longed for in my mind months earlier. The bright lights and even the music acted like a web that easily anchored me to that world, their world—the one I had silently wished to belong to and into which it wasn’t hard for me to fit in once I understood; it was simply a matter of behavior and patterns.

The social analysis I conducted on the most popular characters led me to adopt the kind of behavior that put me on their radar; not to toot my own horn, but the truth is it was easy to follow and imitate. Within a few weeks, Ellie—the girl who had always ignored me for being different—noticed my presence; from there, fitting in became a reality, a change that, like any other, would not come without consequences.

Ellie was a pretty girl with a perfect face, who always showed off her beautiful hair, perfectly styled; looking disheveled was never an option—it was like a foregone conclusion regarding her status. For many ordinary mortals, like me, she was the icing on the cake, one of a kind, the most beautiful and the most desired; the gateway to visibility and the path to the top.

However, in this world, not all that glitters is gold… no, of course not. We’re all full of prejudices, especially when we don’t know the reality hidden behind a face; and although everything about her that seemed perfect and beautiful to those who didn’t have access to her world was actually just a facade—not an empty shell—Ellie turned out to be the complete opposite of what I’d always imagined.

Until that day, I thought I had been able to read everyone, to understand their intentions and attitudes… how wrong I was; I still don’t understand how I couldn’t have noticed it sooner. That night, Ellie looked more beautiful than usual, but something wasn’t right, something was disturbing her serenity.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

The truth is, at that moment, the answer to that question was irrelevant to me; I was there to enjoy myself.

However, in this world, not all that glitters is gold… no, of course not. We’re all full of prejudices, especially when we don’t know the reality hidden behind a face; and although everything about her that seemed perfect and beautiful to those who didn’t have access to her world was actually just a facade—not an empty shell—Ellie turned out to be the complete opposite of what I’d always imagined.

Until that day, I thought I had been able to read everyone, to understand their intentions and attitudes… how wrong I was; I still don’t understand how I couldn’t have noticed it sooner. That night, Ellie looked more beautiful than usual, but something wasn’t right, something was disturbing her serenity.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

The truth is, at that moment, the answer to that question was irrelevant to me; I was there to enjoy myself.

I looked around, took in the whole scene, and watched the couples dancing, the people smiling and having a good time, the drinks being passed back and forth amid the flashing lights, and I sighed… I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath… I realized my mistake.

I immediately went after Ellie. When I found her, she was already getting ready to leave without me. I know I deserved it, but I couldn’t let her leave like that.

“Wait, please!” I pleaded.

“Why? Do you need more? Don’t you think you’ve used me enough already?” she replied. Her eyes reflected sadness.

“Ellie… please.” “I was unable to say anything else; I had no arguments to deny what she already knew.

‘I thought you were different…’ she said in a hushed voice. ‘When I let you get close to me and enter my space, I believed you had another purpose… I believed you cared… I thought that was your purpose. I believed you would be my escape,’ she said.

Those words disarmed me… they shattered what little ego I had left; I had strayed so far… I had focused so much on being someone I wasn’t that, without realizing it, I had hurt the only thing that mattered to me in this world.

“Escape? Escape from what, Ellie?” I dared to ask.

“This! All of this… I’m tired of this… It’s frustrating that everyone misunderstands me… I’m more than just a pretty face… I’m more than just a beautiful girl,” she blurted out.

“Ellie…” I said as I tried to reach out to hug her.

“Do you know what saddens me most about all this?” she asked, avoiding my embrace.

I didn’t dare answer… I knew the answer to that question.

“You’re just as superficial as everyone else,” were the last words she said before getting into the taxi that took her away from me… Since then, she hasn’t answered my calls or messages.

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• The original story was written in Spanish, my native language, and translated into English for Dream Steem using DeepL.com (free version).
• Royalty-free image generated with Gemini.
• Invited @paholags, @gertu and @eudisdiaz.
• Contest: The Keyword of the week.

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