You Promised

Don’t look behind you.

Seriously, don’t. There’s no point, there’s nothing there.

You probably looked anyway, and since you’re still reading, I guess I was right. Nothing was there.

It strikes me as fascinating that when you tell someone, “Don’t look!” or “Don’t turn around,” their first reaction always seems to be the opposite. If I told you that looking at the ceiling directly above you would kill you in a most painful way, your reaction would likely be to do exactly that, just to prove to yourself that there’s nothing to worry about. It certainly doesn’t matter now, especially since you probably already looked at the ceiling, but what will you do when there is a real threat? Do you blame the warning for tempting you to look, or do you blame yourself for being foolish enough not to heed the warning?

Let’s try something. Keep your eyes focused here. Promise me you will NOT turn around under any circumstances. Do you promise? If so, good. If not, well, that’s your choice. This is a test of both your honesty and your guts. I’m sure you’d like to turn around right now, but you promised me you wouldn’t. A promise is a promise, and you have nerves of steel for following through. I’m acting in your best interest here, trust me. Because I promised him that I would keep you looking this way while he got in, and he promised me that as long as you didn’t look, he would make it as quick and painless as possible.

So seriously, whatever you do, don’t look behind you.