Betrayal.

“There are two varieties of betrayal. The first one, everyone is familiar with. That is the betrayal  of a moment, the impulsive act that destroys years of trust in one fell strike. That is the suddenly revealed secret, the sudden uncharacteristic infidelity. Everyone has heard stories about that kind of betrayal. The other kind is harder to identify and perhaps even more damaging. It is betrayal via accumulation, and neither party – the betrayer or the betrayed – may be aware of it, at least not at first. Even in the end, after the damage is apparent, they still may not be aware of it as betrayal, but betrayal it is. Accumulation. An accumulation of moments, or perhaps more accurately, an erosion of promises. In artists, it may be the betrayal of their talent: day after day, spurning their muse, postponing their art, until nothing is left but the ashes of possibilities. In lovers, it happens when one listens to the other voices. Little annoyances, perhaps, little fears. There is a true pure voice that runs under a true love, I believe – otherwise, it is merely the satisfaction of impulses, romantic or lustful. But everyone has doubts. All loves, true or not, have troubles. It may be that your lover truly is not the one for you, and a leavetaking is in order. But it may also be that you are swallowing daily doses of a poison. Betrayal happens. It happens because you are weak.”


...I needed a reminder.