15. You have a friend, lover, s.o., parent, whomever--and you have a magic potion. Once they take it they will tell you the absolute truth for one minute. Who do you give it to and what do they say?
If I had a magic potion that could extract the truth from someone, I suppose there are many people I could slip this mysterious drink to, in order to gain deeper insights. My family; with secrets like traces of shadows that never quite reach the light. Friends, who couldn't quite look me in the eye at times when answering me. My boyfriend; although this one's life is such an open book it's like he spends all day slurping a magic truth potion. It's tempting, but perhaps some truths are best left unsaid. Or more, perhaps there is something to be gained in battling, convincing, or compelling the truth from another's lips. Perhaps in the case of these things, in the long run we could never truly gain anything from using such a potion. So when I really think about it, about how I would use a magic truth potion, I can't help but come to the conclusion that I would want to drink it.Me? Me?! How preposterous this might seem! And yet, when we hold a mirror up to ourselves, how much truth do we actually see? Do we shelter ourselves from it? Pepper our days with lies to cover up all those unseemly truths? When you feel sad or angry and you don't know why, who else could possibly know but you? Who else really holds the key to these secrets. Secrets like why you can't seem to break a habit, stop obsessing over someone, believe that something is true? Secrets that hold you back, cloud your vision and lead you astray, secrets that prevent you from moving forward in life. All these deep secrets are locked inside of us, kept away from those who would seem most likely to know them but don't - ourselves.
And so, I would look at that potion and brace myself. I would hold ready my list of questions with an unsteady hand, and in the other I would grab the bottle like I meant business. I would throw back this brew like a shot of alcohol, bracing myself for what was to come. And then I would pick up the handheld mirror by my side, look myself square in the eye, and the questions would begin.
This is one of those prompts I think is a corker (I like all my prompts actually) but it tends not to get the writing I hope for, so, be definition, it's not a very good prompt.
ReplyDeleteYou do a fine job of answering the prompt, explaining your reaction to the prompt, and so on--it's insightful and interesting, but in the end it's still an answer and not an independent, stand-alone piece.
When I've done this prompt, I've given words to the person who took the potion, I've let them speak their monologue and their responses to my questions, and I've let their words tell the tale.