Eternal Mask of Vanity

“Uncle, I really don’t get your point here” she wondered.

“It seems that you can’t catch up with our family brilliance” he said.

“Err…I don’t know about that, but please make your point clear”.

“He gets twenty five thousand five hundred more salary than her, which should be a seventeen thousand two hundred and fifty more than what you earn too. He is also married to a girl who is richer by eighty seven cents of land. In your case, you almost have no land assets” he added.

“But uncle, how is that relevant here?” she asked with curiosity.

“Do you have any idea how awesome my son is?” he asked.

“Okay, but how is the significant in what we are discussing?” she asked again.

“Because he is my son and I am his father” he made a point as if it was the greatest he could ever make.

“But do you need to boast every now and then about it? I mean, you say that I am dark skinned, but your son is darker skinned, and you say that I am fat, but have you ever noticed how fat your daughter-in-law is? Why do you have to keep discussing about my fat and the colour of my skin everywhere? Why do you compare the salaries and possessions of everyone you know”?

“Because my son has everything that is needed, and he is better than all of you cousins combined. She is married to rich girl that he loved and with this grand salary, will live happily ever after” he said with pride.

“So you think that he will live like that forever. You feel that all these are forever?” she asked.

“Yes, why not? I have everything in the world forever. Some of you don’t have a job, some of you couldn’t find the right partner, and some of you are uneducated or working for some pathetic salary. You all have minuses, too many of them. We have none. We are perfect”.

“But how is that eternal?” she asked.

“Because I know that we are better than everybody else. Otherwise, you would have got a better salary. Can’t you be like my daughter-in-law? She is so good”.

“I can’t be like your daughter-in-law because I am your niece and another person; and your never-ending comparison of everyone you know will not help in anything” she added.

“Do you know that he is buying a new car with his own salary? I have written down the specifications. It is a big vehicle. You don’t have a car now, right?” he asked.

“This never stops” she murmered.

✠ The Vampire Bat finished writing on the board and turned around. “So my dear vampire apprentices, what kind of mask is this?”

“I think I know such an uncle, but doubtful about the mask” remarked the Vampire Crocodile.

“The Mask of…of…I forgot? Can I have the lifeline, may be Phone a Vampire?” asked the Vampire Hamster.

“What? No, not at all. This is a class. The quiz competition was yesterday” said the Vampire Bat.

“The Mask of Vanity?” asked the Vampire Alligator.

“Well done. It categorizes as an eternal mask, one of the eight of the eternal kind. It is a great disguise to be used when feeling the need to boast and make others feel inferior. It has enough in its dark soul to be considered as the best disguise, as it can hide one’s own mistakes and lack of capabilities by trying to bring down others. Now that finishes today’s class about the fourty seventh type of mask. Don’t forget to continue your work at home and always do your vampire studies home work” said the Vampire Bat as he dispersed the class an hour before the regular time.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

***The images used in this blog post are from the Official Facebook Page of Hotel Transylvania, the animated movie.

TeNy