THE VILLAIN...

She told him he was the villain. She said it so concretely, so certainly, that he was sure it was over. That they had reached the end. He thought of all the movies he had watched over the years and the conversations he had had with people where they saw the character so differently. He realized he was now in that story and he was now that character. He saw himself so differently, so completely opposite from what she must have saw. He wondered what stories she had told to her friends to make her, them, believe that this was indeed his role. He quickly tried to play back all of the scenes they had acted out looking for the evidence she surely had that he had missed. 

"The villain", he asked? 

Hoping he had heard her wrong. But indeed she said just that, and repeated herself to boot. 

He thought to himself, he was never mean, or ugly, rude or untrue, hurtful, nor a liar. Sure, he had made his mistakes, gone left when he should have gone right. But he good. Perhaps not always the hero, but definitely on the good side. And yes, life had worn down his cape a bit, it was tattered, with holes and cuts, but it was there. Like Captain America in Endgame, picking up his broken shield and strapping it up tightly, to fight one last fight. That was him, battered and bruised, but having the will and desire to battle once more, hoping to win one last fight. 

But he was the villain. As she stated so heavy handedly, leaving him almost out of breath. The words hit him hard like the fist of the Dark Knight himself. The Villain. He had called himself the bad guy, Mr. Almost, Mr. In Between, but he always viewed himself as the lovable loser. The guy that no matter how hard he tried, things simply just didn't work out for him. But not to her, no she had made things painfully clear. 

He wondered how many other stories he had been in where he was also viewed the villain? How many pictures was he cast as this dark, disturbing force of energy? The antagonist of love. All the hearts broken, scars left open, could this really be true?

He sat on the fire escape balcony of his apartment building sipping his glass of red wine and looking at old photos of different times, hoping to see the hero in himself. Who would look back on him and think, he was good? He was great, or kind, or decent? 

She said he was the villain. The terrorizing figure in her life. Torturing and tormenting, the challenge to overcome, the roadblock towards peace and happiness. The villain? 

He sat on the fire escape balcony, sipping his wine, overlooking the city. He imagined her somewhere on the other side. Light and Dark. Day and Night. Hero and Villain. 

He thought to himself, shit.... if I am truly the villain... I'm gonna be the baddest there is... so he lit a cigarette...stepped into the night... and laughed an evil laugh...

"everybody has a role to play, I know mine and I play it well"...

The Villain.