Illusion

Book excerpt: An illusion is a thing that is wrongly perceived or interpreted by the senses. Magicians use illusion, as do movie makers and production lighting technicians; we expect those illusions. What we tend to forget is that people also emit illusion. Take the illusion of Perfect Patricia who turned out to be not quite so perfect; or her nondescript boring husband, Buford, who was not quite as nondescript or boring as everyone thought. Okay, take me, average Kory Trumble, small town librarian, who is actually not as average as I thought. And I don't even want to begin to discuss the illusion that was Tyler Ross, cousin to boring Buford. Is nobody what they seem to be? Probably not. Oh, wait, Beau and Tiffany, progeny of Perfect Patricia and Boring Buford, were exactly what they seemed to be. After all, children under six are too innocent and real to perpetuate illusion. Wouldn't life be simpler if we didn't feel it necessary to hide behind our illusive selves?