My Masquerade

  Here, there, where? All places are just a middle man to another destination which is just a middle man too. School is just a middle man to life and life is just in the middle of birth then death. Jason is in his eyes the middle man between man and a shattered glass pane.

Jake always wore his masks, whether they be facades or this time rather physical.

Everyone says that these masks protect us from an invisible threat. Yet to him, they hide him, in plain sight. With these masks, they protect him from him and a threat he cannot perceive.

Every day he wakes up gets into his slippers. And goes to his bathroom to take his morning shower. He blasts his morning song rush with his Bluetooth shower head speaker. These songs give him fleeting moments of happiness. Well, that’s what they were designed to do as is. These songs, he wrote himself. He took pride in them, he took joy writing them, he poured his blood; sweat; and tears into them, but most importantly. He designed them for a purpose. For anyone who looked deeper into the meaning of each lyric. They understand that they paint a picture of a better life for him. They were designed to make a depressed man feel something! But today is different

When he gets out he dries off, gets dressed, brushes his teeth, and goes downstairs to his morning coffee. Today was too much for him already. He has taken all the bullying from yesterday’s thoughts to the ones he gets the first thing in the morning today. His coffee, bitter, yes, but gives him a sense of disgust in his coffee creamer and makes him feel again. But today is different.

When he’s done with his coffee and bagel with cream cheese. He makes his morning commute to his office. Yet again his commute angers him yet he takes this route as he does every day. To make him feel something. He gets to his office to sing his songs. But today is different.

He sings his song with more passion this time, more drive. He knows that when this goes public everyone will reminisce on him. People love his work, people love him, people know of him, but people do not know him. But today is different.

When he was done recording. He went to his lounge in his office. And he was writing a song he would never sing. But someone would. Today he wrote like any other. But as mentioned before. But today is different.

Jake was a national treasure for his music he gave hope not only through his music, not only through the meaning of his music, but what he did with that money his music gave him. This last song he wrote would most likely give him another 20 thousand dollars. If he were there to see it. He wrote his song like he would any other. But this song would be his last hurrah. He wrote as normal. But today would be different.

When he went back home. After he did what he planned his flesh would never age in the minds of the people world wide. His words would ring true and proper for the rest of the world to hear. He turned on the speakers all throughout his house and played on repeat “American Pie” by Don McLean. He put the song he wrote that morning on his kitchen table.

He went up to his room, tied the knot, grabbed a chair from his kitchen, set up the rope over his ceiling fan. Put his head in the knot, tightened it around his neck, and kicked the chair out from under him. And when his neck finally gave way the lyrics were at “The Day… The Music, Died”. Today was different.

It wouldn’t be until 10 in the morning the very next day. He would be discovered by Caleb the head of his house's cleaning team. He called 911 to report it. No one touched anything but went outside. The authorities took everyone’s statements. And moved Jake’s body to the examiner's office. So they could not only find out what killed him but prepare his body for his last chance above ground. Yesterday was different.

They prepared his body fairly quickly. Within a few days. They made his gravesite next to Elvis and the rest of the other national treasures. But that Monday was different.

They sang the song he wrote and broadcast his song all throughout the nation. Like many people knew about him. A lot of his more recent songs were to shine light on depression and other mental illnesses. Not many people knew that he was going through depression. He lived a lonely life. He couldn’t find anyone. That was a major factor for him to do this. But that Monday was different.

Everyone that thought they knew him thought he was fine. But he wore his mask well. He wore his mask without fail. Everyone just thought that he was always ok. No one truly understood him. But that Monday was different.

The more his song went on. The more people understood him. Since most of his song’s lyrics were about the hardships he faced throughout his days. He couldn’t just find someone to be with, but he couldn’t deal with the fact that his mother had died of lung cancer and he couldn’t do anything to stop it, and lastly he couldn’t take the lasting impression his last Girlfriend gave him by leaving him and then immediately got with a man that he saw her checking out earlier in their relationship. But that Monday was different.

When they had lowered his body into his grave. Everyone in the nation took a moment of silence just for him. Hours later the police searched his home for what his lawyer said was his will. Jake went to law school before he became a singer. So he knew how to write his own will and had the degree to make it into something that he could use in the event of his death. That Monday was different.

When they read his will he wrote the following. “In the event that I am departing from this life before I can say a proper goodbye. I have written this so it could act as my final goodbye. In the event that I may perish before I can do this myself. I want half of my net worth in my money to go to all non-profit charity organizations to fighting cancer of any kind. And I want my home to be erected and a museum built in order to honor the ones who came before me when it came to understanding mental illnesses. I want this money to come from the other half of my net worth. Any money that is left over from that I order it to be given to my sister, Ellen Kelly. Which I expect there to be no less than 1 hundred thousand dollars left to her. And Brittney James if you are hearing this. I want you to know I know you faked it every time. Yet I didn’t care. And I don’t care what sort of hell the devil has planned for you. Yours truly, Jason I. Kelly.” But that Monday was different.

His mask was never visible to many. However, the 2 people that could always tell if his mask was on me, Ellen,

his sister, and his Mother: Kate Kelly. You could always tell if his mask was on. Just not many people knew how to tell if it was on. But to the people that did know. They knew something was wrong. Yet they couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Until his mask had taken its toll. Jake was a good man. And an even better brother. We love you, Jake, you will be missed.