"There are no secrets “Magic exists. Who can doubt it, when there are rainbows and wildflowers, the music of the wind and the silence of the stars? Anyone who has loved has been touched by magic. It is such a simple and such an extraordinary part of the lives we live.” |
Secrets hurt not only others, but yourself as well. If Atlas could wish for one thing, it would be to get rid of all the things he keeps hidden from others. Yes, he wishes for many other things as well, such as exploring the cosmos and taking his friends with him, but above all that are his loved ones. He knows that secrets are hurtful, and not just to yourself but to others just as much. Deep inside, Atlas is judgemental. He judges others but keeps his opinions to himself. However, he knows he can't do it forever, for the imperfections and lies of those he trusts keep coming towards him. You see, Atlas has a strange ability, or, in this case, disease called synaesthesia. It is a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. In other words, it makes you see letters in colours (such as 'E's in the colour green and 'A' in the colour yellow), taste people's voices, and see things for noise (such as seeing stars at the sound of 'clang!')
In Atlas's case, it's tasting other makos voices. He sometimes tends to judge people on the taste of their voice, and will try to avoid those with a sour taste. Having a preference for sweet things rather than sour, Atlas tends to stay away from people with sour voices and accidentally hurts their feelings by doing so. Half of the time, they haven't done anything wrong other than opening their mouth, which tends to make them feel as if there was something inappropriate about them that hit Atlas the wrong way. This is probably the main point of his wish, getting rid of his judgemental personality and synesthetic preferences. Despite the sour taste of those few specific makos, though, Atlas loves to taste the sweet voices of those he loves and the smooth, sugary sound of musician's songs. In this way, he doesn't want to get rid of his synaesthesia, for it makes him love his friends even more than he usually would and helps him listen to their rants and needs, yet he still feels as though his case has more cons than it has pros. Another effect of this disease is that he can taste lies. It often hurts him when those he thinks he can trust lie to him. For example, if his best friend's voice usually tastes like milk chocolate, a lie from him would taste like pure, sour cocoa. That would not only be an unpleasant taste experience, but it would also tell Atlas that his friend was not as truthful as he had thought. So, to narrow it down, what would be the one thing he would wish for if he was given the chance to do so? Well, it would probably be to get rid of his synaesthesia, even if it meant losing the few perks it came with. After all, if he truly loved somebody, he didn't need their sweet voice to still adore them to the moon and back. |