Illusion of Beauty

By David Ocasio

“Illusion of Beauty” is a work of real insights from an action that makes good cheese and fine wine get their incredible taste - it’s a glorification of the glory of wisdom that gloaming days generate. During his salad days, David Ocasio had the luck and privilege of coming across of elders who not only loved him and cared but believed him enough that they shared their invaluable life lessons and eclectic wisdom.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9781543498219

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Copyright © 2021 by David Ocasio.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the

product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance

to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 09/27/2021

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CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

CHAPTER 1

It was early Saturday morning at the local playground. A short distance from the swings sat a little girl dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt. She had a light olive honey-hued complexion and the loveliest of eyes, which were a deep shade of blue. Her hair was so dark that it shone as blue as the sky on a moonlit evening, serving to complement her other faultless features. However, this beloved child’s face had been deformed from birth.

As the child sat in dismay, wishing she could be like the other children, her mother walked up to her and asked why she wasn’t playing with the others. Christine told her mother that her friend, Penny, had moved away. Penny was her very best friend ever, and she missed her friend very much.

Valerie, Christine’s mother, had waited until late in life to have children. She was a bit past middle age, but well kept. She had an oval face with typical Caucasian features. Though Valerie was considered a plain Jane, she possessed angelic qualities and an amiable smile that could light up the day.

Valerie assured Christine that the other children would be more than happy to play with her if she joined them. However, Christine continued to sit sadly wishing for her best friend. Valerie then said to her, If you want, I’ll play with you, Christine.

Do you love me, Mommy, even though I’m ugly? asked the child.

Of course I do, and I always will.

Will I always be ugly, Mommy?

You’re not really ugly, sweetheart, Valerie assured her daughter. As long as you are beautiful from within, you can’t ever be ugly. No one can ever rob you of that beauty, because it’s real.

But I want to be beautiful on the outside, too, so that I can be loved by others, said Christine sadly.

Valerie explained that true love isn’t rooted in external appearance, it comes from the heart. Valerie comforted her daughter by reminding Christine of the surgery that would correct her deformity when she was older.

That evening, before going to bed, Christine sat in front of her ivory-laced vanity and stared in the mirror, wondering what her appearance might be after her surgery. After gazing in the mirror, she turned her attention to a pair of dolls she kept on her vanity. First she gazed upon the beautiful ceramic doll, a dainty figurine clothed in rosettes. After imagining herself all grown up and in such attire, she turned and faced the other doll, which she’d found in the trash. It was made of plastic, with a tattered dress, and the face was worn and blemished. She had taken great care in restoring the doll as best she could, and she took it to bed with her every night. It was her favorite doll.

That night, before going to bed, she picked up the doll, caressed it, and held it as a mother would a newborn.

I know you were thrown away because everyone believes you’re ugly, she said to the doll, but I would never throw you away, because we all deserve to be loved. So I’m going to love you even if no one else will.

Christine lay in bed hugging her doll, and she began to cry. As the tears rolled down her face, a fairy princess appeared by her bedside. The fairy princess extended her hand, and a tissue appeared. Then, with a warm gentle touch, she wiped the tears from Christine’s face. In a calm and soothing voice, she asked, Tell me, what is it that troubles you, dear child?

No one wants to love me because I’m ugly, Christine replied.

If no one will love you, then tell me why it is that I love you, Christine?

How did you know my name? Christine asked in astonishment.

The same way you know that I am a fairy princess.

As Christine looked upon the fairy princess in adoration of her loveliness, she asked, Why do you love me, fairy princess?

Because I can see with the eyes of my soul, and unlike mortal eyes, the eyes of the soul can look deep inside of individuals and see their true beauty. There will come a day when you, too, will have learned to see with the eyes of your soul, and unlike those who haven’t, you will know what it means to be truly beautiful.

But I want to be beautiful on the outside, too, Christine insisted.

The outside will continue to change, Christine. However, if you remain beautiful on the inside, there will come a time when the outside will be just as beautiful as the inside.

But how will I know that I’ve become beautiful, fairy princess? Christine asked.

I know that at this moment, time may seem immovable, but if you are willing to be patient and have a little faith, there will come a day when you will be blessed with the chance to know others who know what beauty means and where it can be found. Like us, they will know that for beauty to be true, it must first be real. To those individuals, you can’t ever be ugly, because they also know where true beauty lies, and that is where they will look.

The fairy princess explained to Christine that as long as she was loved for who she was and learned to love in the same way, she would forever be beautiful. After having illuminated the significance of that perspective, the fairy princess sang Christine a lullaby, bringing her to a gentle and peaceful sleep.

Two years passed. Christine was now a five-foot-four high school freshman with a gawky appearance and braces. To add insult to injury, she had to wear corrective glasses. On one particular occasion, Valerie was preparing supper when, abruptly, Christine steamed through the house like a runaway freight train. As she stepped into the kitchen, she looked at her mother and angrily declared that she was going to drop out of school and quit life. After that, Christine ran to her room and shut the door.

Valerie waited a few minutes, then went to check on her daughter. When she got to Christine’s room, she cracked the door open to look inside. Christine was lying face down on her bed, in tears. Valerie opened the door slowly, went over to Christine, and sat next to her.

Christine repeated what she’d told her mother in the kitchen. Valerie, knowing how much Christine enjoyed learning, reminded her, But you’ve always enjoyed school and your teachers. You wouldn’t want to disappoint them, would you, Christine?

High school stinks, Mom, Christine mumbled, her face buried in her pillow. The girls are a bunch of bimbos, and the boys are stupid jerks.

With a serious tone, but not really meaning it, Valerie offered to quit her job and homeschool her daughter.

You can’t quit your job to teach me at home! Christine shouted. We can barely exist on the little you’re making now. If it weren’t for Melissa, we’d be living in cardboard boxes and walking around in the nude.

Valerie laughed and reminded Christine that like her father, her sister had always retained a benevolent nature. As Valerie wiped the tears from Christine’s face, Melissa came home from work. Christine, not wanting Melissa to ever be disappointed in her, swore her mother to secrecy before allowing her to leave the room. Valerie assured Christine that it was their secret.

Melissa was five-foot-six, with a curvy athletic physique, dark hair like Christine’s, and dark gray catlike eyes. She was a carpenter by trade, well versed in the martial arts, and five years older than her little sister.

Later that evening, while Melissa, Valerie, and Christine were having dinner, Christine used her fork to place her vegetables over her pasta and vice versa as she stared at her sister. Eventually, Melissa began to laugh as Christine went on with her antics.

What are you doing, Christine? Melissa asked.

Do you think I’ll ever be as pretty as you, Melissa?

I’m quite sure that you’ll be much prettier after your surgery, Melissa replied.

Christine stared at the cabinets above the sink. Are those cabinets made of real wood or pretend wood? she asked.

Melissa reminded Christine that she had made those cabinets from scratch, and none of them were pretend wood.

They’re great cabinets, Melissa, Valerie interjected, and they’re quite functional.

I appreciate that you appreciate the cabinets, Mother, Melissa replied in jest.

Christine looked at her sister. Is it at all normal for the dining area and kitchen to be located in the same room?

That depends on one’s preference, Christine, Valerie said to her.

I’m tired of this house, Christine cried. I’m tired of living here, and I’m especially tired of being poor! And with that, she went running to her room.

Once Christine was gone, Melissa asked her mother what that was all about. Valerie informed Melissa of the episode that had taken place earlier. Melissa assured her that she would have a talk with Christine.

As promised, later that evening, Melissa went over to Christine’s room. She knocked on her sister’s door, but Christine would not answer. Melissa opened the door and Christine buried her head underneath her pillow, continuing to ignore Melissa. Melissa smiled, walked over to Christine, sat next to her, and said, Being that my sister refuses to talk to me, would you lift your head from the sand and speak on her behalf, Ms. Ostrich?

Christine smiled as Melissa raised a corner of the pillow. When she saw Christine’s smile, Melissa let go of the pillow. She then walked over to the door, closed it, and stood outside of the room.

A few seconds later, Christine ran over to the door and opened it. When she did, Melissa grabbed hold of her. Christine laughed as she struggled to get back inside with Melissa holding on. Once back inside, Melissa told Christine that she wasn’t letting go until they spoke. Christine finally gave in and took a seat in front of her vanity as Melissa sat on the bed.

Mom tattled, didn’t she, said Christine. I knew she couldn’t keep her mouth shut.

As if you left her a choice by the way you behaved, Christine.

You’re not going to lecture me, are you, Melissa? That’s mom’s job.

No, Melissa replied. I’m not going to lecture you.

Are you sure you’re not going to lecture me? Christine asked, suspicious.

I promise I will not lecture you, Melissa responded in a light-hearted manner.

As she sat on the bed, Melissa noticed that Christine’s favorite childhood doll was no longer on the vanity.

What happened to that raggedy plastic doll you used to keep on your dresser? Wasn’t it your favorite?

I grew out of it, Christine responded. Besides, it wasn’t raggedy, she emphasized in defense of the doll.

It was such a pretty doll. It’s a shame you got rid of it.

I believe you need to have your eyes examined, Melissa, said Christine.

Did you tell Mom you were dropping out of school? Melissa asked.

Yes, I did. I’m not going back, and you can’t make me! Christine stated firmly.

Won’t you need an education of some kind, or professional training to make a living?

No, I won’t, Christine insisted. I’ll just marry an ugly man, and he’ll have no choice but to take care of me because he’ll be ugly just like me.

Men with money, even if they are ugly, can afford to be choosy, Christine.

Then I’ll just become a bum and live in a cardboard box, Christine stubbornly insisted.

You don’t really mean that. Besides, you already have all you need, and I’m sure that life will bless you with even more.

Is it true that when you were in private school, some of the kids called you rag doll?

There were those who did, Melissa admitted, but they did so behind my back. If you remember, after daddy’s death, things were tough for a while. But I really wasn’t cut out for private school. When I went to public school, things changed for the better.

It never bothered you, Melissa? asked Christine.

At times, but I never really gave it much thought. Besides, I was too busy helping mom. What matters most is that you are loved, Christine. Even more important is that you learn to love and respect yourself, and at the same time carry yourself with dignity. If you learn to think and behave in this way, then own it; you’ll become it. You’ll attract others who’ve come to own these virtues, and you’ll come to see and understand that these are the best friends one could have, simply because they will accept you for who you are, as do Mom and I.

But it’s just so hard, Melissa, Christine cried out in exasperation. You don’t know what it’s like attending the school of hoity-toity. It’s saturated with hoity-toities. It’s exhausting!

Sounds like my time at the private school.

I could do like you and go to trade school. I could become a welder or a bricklayer, or whatever else, can’t I?

Is that really what you want? Melissa asked. You should never allow the ignorance, intolerance, and prejudices that surround you to be your guiding light, because it is a manner of thinking that is directed by darkness. Nor should we ever create self-imposed conditions rooted in thoughts that keep us from who we need to be. You’ve always said you wanted to be a teacher. You know that if it wasn’t for my math teachers, everything I made or repaired would not be correct in dimension, not fit into place, and would come out crooked. We all have a role to play in life, Christine. We feed off of each other, and that’s how things get accomplished.

Christine laughed lightly, as her sister’s observation made complete sense.

You know, Christine, I’ve always been so proud of you for earning that scholarship to such a fine school. Mom is too, you know.

You always do this to me, Melissa, grumbled Christine.

Do what, Christine?

Tell me how proud you are, tell me how smart I am, tell me how proud I should be over how much I’ve accomplished. You don’t know what it’s like to be a monster-faced geek.

Christine began to make faces, causing Melissa to laugh. Melissa tried to contain herself but just couldn’t do so.

You see, even you think it’s funny.

I’m sorry, said Melissa. I didn’t mean to laugh.

Then why are you still laughing?

Christine eventually stopped making faces, and as Melissa’s laughter subsided, Christine looked at her sister and said, Do you think I’ll ever be as popular as you, Melissa?

Where did you hear that?

Christine reminded her of the time she met Melissa at work to go shopping. Melissa explained to Christine that there weren’t many women in her line of work. Christine made it clear to her sister that it wouldn’t have mattered where she worked, because with a body