shi liu ; façade

It wasn't a forgiving world, where everyone had their attitudes which they separated piece by piece. It was a cruel world, where everyone hid behind walls and other people, totally bent on protecting themselves instead of others. The selfishness had already slowly crawled up humanity, sneaking into places it shouldn't be. In places like this, a person couldn't avoid being caught up in all the action, and suckered to be one of them.

They were the "Association of the Façade Makers," but most people called them the mask builders. They created tight plaster masks which would seem to be suffocating, but once you put them on, they soak into your skin, making you the person you requested. They sought to turn everyone into the outside appearances of which they fancied. The government was displaced, half of them already ordered masks, and the other half stood up in strong resistance. It was already too late though; the mass population had already ordered their masks giddily and waited like a child on Christmas Eve for their masks to arrive. 

Once it did, they sprang down the stairs, nearly breaking the doorknob by the way they swung the door open, forcefully and rapidly. Once they saw the neatly wrapped box on their front step, they would dash out and grab it, before casting a wary glance around them. If a mask was stolen, that was several thousand dollars lost. 

Opening the box, they found a clear white mask, designed with the face they had always wanted. It was an even better method than plastic surgery, because it was instant, and no doctors were involved. The whole mask building system caused many plastic surgeons to go out of business anyways. 

Strapping on the mask, they would take a deep breath, breathing in all the chemicals that came with the mask. The instruction manual said to wait a whole day with the mask on, and then it would freely form to your face and the look would be complete. Those 24 hours were probably the longest of many people's lives. After they woke up, probably with little to no sleep, they would slowly peel away the now wet mask, and would reveal the face they had dreamt of, but now finally it was theirs. 

Squealing with delight was a natural reaction, and slowly, the whole nation began to transform. You would see no more self-conscious girls on the internet, those who complained they were ugly were the poor people who couldn't afford a mask. It was a simple solution to all your physical problems. Now, all the people on the street walk with confidence, and many eyes have trouble weeding out the fake faces from the real. The actually attractive people were thought of as fake, and the fake people were thought of as even more fake.

People's selfish desires often got the best of them, whether or not they can help it. The desperate need to fit in was even more stressed when the majority of people started doing something that the minority couldn't afford. 

In the end, the desire to conform to growing standards took over people's minds. It caused their ego to fill up like helium in a balloon and soon everyone was going around carrying a mirror. Not one person was referred to as "ugly," for the word didn't exist any more in this nation of superficial beauty. Everyone was too occupied with their own lovely, fake façades to notice other people's. It was time-consuming and mind-consuming, this art of creating a personal mask.

//+ I... don't know okay? It just popped into my mind ;; it's actually an interesting thing though.. hrm