How does one become perfect?

How does one reach a level of existence in which they are no longer subjected to envy?

Envy of others and their possessions.

Every human being is envious of someone, or something. When we are able to get whatever we want, we wish for a little more challenge. When getting a mere scrap of bread is a matter of life or death, we wish for an easy way out.

Our experiences, our history, our social status, they all are irrelevant.

To be human is to sin. As long as we remain human, we will always be envious of something. To lose the ability to envy is to lose our humanity.

Those who do not envy are not human. They are something else, be it an angel or a demon.

They do not belong in this world, a world of sin.

They thrive and excel, leaving little for others to feed off of.

They are the essence of perfection.

Golden strands, highlighted by the sunlight streaming through the windows, fell down her back. One can not be sure of her origins, heaven or hell, but she was the essence of perfection. Her skin, smooth and flawless, was like porcelain. Her bright eyes scanned the room, taking in her surroundings with great care and appreciation. Her slim body sat in the chair at the front of the classroom, gracefully perched on her seat. Most would probably agree that she was an angel, for in our society, despite common belief, judgement is made mostly on superficial factors, and she was beautiful by all means.

She wore a minimal amount of makeup, but the small amount of mascara and the touch of lip-gloss made her features shine. Her long nimble fingers quietly strummed the desk and she attentively observed her teacher, occasionally stopping to take notes. She looked so beautiful, sitting by the window, bathed in sunlight.

Once class ended, every immediately stood up to surround her desk. They all had given up on becoming perfect.

Nobody could surpass her.

No human could outshine an angel.

However, not all of them had lost hope.

Another girl shared this classroom, her heart and soul possessed by envy.

She watched her classmate, wishing she was in her place. The girl possessed the perfection she had always dreamed of.

She, however, was invisible in that classroom. She possessed very little redeeming qualities. However, she was a human who had not given up on becoming a superior being. Her envy powered her forward. Her jealousy carved a path she could follow to become one with perfection.

However, she was far from her goal. Her plain hair was dull and tangled. It stuck to her head in oil adhered clumps, which was pulled back into a tight, unflattering ponytail. Her thick body was heavy and clumsy, her athletic incompetence evident. Her acne covered face was resting on a stumpy hand. When she went to pick up her pencil, it slipped from her short fingers and fell to the ground. A classmate went to help her pick up the pencil, but when he did, he was met with a rude glare warning him against the action. She didn’t get along with many of her peers, and her teachers were constantly nagging her to get her sinking grades back up.

She watched, envious of how easily her classmate fit social standards. She had been told many times that the world needs people to be unique. But what people said and what they did didn’t match up. The world still discriminated and criticized those who challenged social standards and rewarded those who fit the general idea of perfection.

Like any other day, the girl watched her classmate, taking note of what made her transcend the human race. Was it her looks? Her face? Or was it something deeper than that. Her classmate picked up her pen gracefully and carefully placed it on her paper. Such a simple task was done with such grace and fluidity. It was as if she had honed all of her actions, such that they displayed agility and grace, so matter the situation. The more the girl watched her classmate, the more this became evident. She never slipped up, she never faltered. All the traits that make one human were missing from this being.

“She must be an angel. Have you seen her grades? They are perfect. Her attendance is perfect too!”

“Never mind her brains. Have you seen her body? Anyone would want some of that.”

“Hey dude, seriously? You wouldn’t even get close!”

Our human nature makes us want to sully things we find to perfect. Maybe that is why it has become normal for girls to want to become as perfect as possible. Our natural instinct to reproduce causes us to reach the highest level of perfection we can achieve. Those who persevere and get results are those who become successful in life. All the rest are just considered failures, who breed to create more failures. And those who have achieved, only to breed with those who have failed are sinners. This is how our world works, survival of not just the fittest, but a battle of the most appealing.

This girl didn’t want to become one of the failures like her parents. Her mother was plump and unattractive, and her father was just as bad. She had to raise the bar for herself, and once she reached the perfection she desired, she could finally leave her parents behind. She would not be brought down by them.

She dragged herself home. It was the last time she was ever going to have the liberty to do something so improper in public as dragging herself. She was going to transform herself another being. One that was not human, but closer to God.

She began to spend all her time studying and she corrected her posture in class. The second she arrived back home, she was holed up in her room, her head buried in her notes. She spent all her time doing exercises and memorizing. He grades rose, to the point where they were on par with her classmate. She was praised and liked by all her teachers and her parents, but she was never their favorite. She was always being compared. She was jealous of their love for her classmate. She wanted to feel that way.

She began to turn towards her looks as the main cause for her short-falling. She had to be beautiful as well to be liked. She stopped eating everything she loved. No cakes, no chocolate, no candy, no sugar, no carbs, no meat, no dairy. Her meals consisted of salads and more salads. She ran every day and biked on the weekends. She lost weight quickly and her skin began to clear up. With every pound she lost and for every zit that disappeared, more and more people talked to her. More people praised her. Finally, when she bleached her hair and dyed it a golden brown, the entirety of her class acknowledged her and talked to her. However, her envy did not dissipate.

The classroom door slid open and her classmate stepped inside, her long blonde hair trailing behind her. She was immediately surrounded by her classmates. She flashed a white smile. However, the girl could see that her eyes were not smiling. Her classmate had slipped up. She might have just been a human after all.

The girl couldn’t understand why God would favor one human over another. Why did that girl get everything? Why did her classmate always get all the attention? Why was she born so perfect, when she was just a human as well? Why was the girl always in second place?

She sat alone with her thoughts, struck by the sudden emptiness of her surroundings.

The stars were bright that night. They shone desperately through the clouds that covered them, attempting to illuminate the Earth with their light. However, their warning did not reach the angel to whom the message was intended.

That night, the girl followed her classmate home. She hated her classmate for being everything she wanted to be. The girl took the opportunity, not hesitation for a second, as she swiftly slit an angel’s throat.

With that final action, she was granted her wish. She had become a being that transcended humans by taking the place of another.

The sky looked down at the scene in sorrow, raining tears as it watched the birth of another demon.