trust
in 5th grade, there was this girl, mary christian. she was tall with long, straight brown hair and a face that kind of looked like a horse. but i hung out with her because she read a lot and we could always talk about books. she once told me that her mom made the best butterscotch. being the food nut that i was, since i’d never had butterscotch, i asked her if i could try some. she said that she could sell me a pound for a penny. so i gave her a penny and she promised she would get some.
the next day i found her at recess and asked her if she’d brought the butterscotch. she told me her mom would make it over the weekend so she would bring it then. the next monday, i asked her about it and she told me she’d forgotten it. she managed to keep this up for a good few months with me asking her every few days, and her coming up with an excuse. it took me a really long time to realize that no one sells a pound of butterscotch for a penny, and to come to the realization that mary had lied to me and had been playing a joke at my expense. but she had me going for months. i think at first, i really wanted to try butterscotch, but then it became a desire to not realize that mary had lied to me and that i’d been so naive.
to this day, i still want to see the best in people. i find so often, people will sell me a bill of rights to something that’s pure potential, or which doesn’t exist. sometimes i hate that about me. that i’m so open to trusting people and that they all have noble intentions, like me. then i remember that it’s the people who are dishonest and take advantage of those who put their trust in them who are sad and incomplete.