Somewhere in the Midwest was a small, obscure little town called Johnsonville. Despite being in a far-flung location, away from most major cities, the townsfolk of Johnsonville lived a fairly exciting and eventful life. However, it was different from the events on and after June 13th. So, what happened on June 13th?
To explain this story better, let us view it from the perspective of Lily Williams. She is a regular high schooler with no special skills or attributes that make her stand out. In fact, she is an introvert who prefers to blend into the background. She is such a wallflower that most of her classmates are unaware of her presence half the time. She needs to be noticed even by the teacher during class projects or team activities.
Although many consider this a sad existence, Lily preferred it that way. She was happy to be ignored and tended to get uncomfortable when the spotlight was on her. Even at home, she led a lonely existence with no siblings. Since both her parents were working in high-pressure jobs, they did not have time for Lily and her low presence worked out to their advantage.
But one day, Lily’s wishes came true in an unexpected way. For a very long time, she could not figure out if this new world was good or bad, but somehow, it worked to her advantage in many ways. So, what happened that day, and what changes occurred in Lily’s world?
I would describe the day as just another Tuesday, but it was important because it was June 13th, Lily’s graduation day. She had finished high school, but she had not enrolled in any university yet. As usual, her parents ignored her and were unaware of the day. However, in a cosmic turn of events, the universe did not forget about Lily and affected her just like everyone else.
It all started after the graduation ceremony. While all the students and their families were busy celebrating or planning their next move, a sudden blinding flash of light lit up the sky. It was followed by a booming sonic blast as if an explosion had occurred. Following this explosion, there was an eerie calm with no sound or wind movement. Even the animals and birds seemed to have gone silent from the shock.
While everyone was shocked and frightened by the blast, there was no visible damage or shock wave. Everyone and everything was as it was before the blast. Immediately, all the authorities were scrambling to figure out what happened? If it was an explosion, where did it occur? Was anyone injured? What caused the blast? Etc.
Surprisingly, no one found any answers. No one could figure out the source of the explosion, and no one outside the town had heard, seen, or felt anything. There was no apparent damage to property, people, or equipment. Worst of all, no one could even understand the nature of the explosion as it did not leave behind any trace of it occurring. No one would have believed it had even happened if the people had not felt it.
While this lack of answers puzzled everyone, life slowly returned to normal, but nothing was normal after that day. Although the changes were subtle, they were pretty drastic. Everyone started to literally be themselves; they could not pretend to be what they were not. Does it confuse you? Well, it definitely confused the people of Johnsonville.
No one could hang on to their masks anymore. No one could pretend to be righteous and con people; they could not pretend to be brave and face any dangers. Thieves, scoundrels, lechers, liars…everyone started to openly be themselves. This stripped many people of their façade, which took them many years to build.
It also affected Lily; she literally became invisible. People could not see her unless she chose to be seen. On her first day out, a car almost ran her over because she was invisible. People slammed the door on her face at the store because they did not see her, and they did not stop her at the checkout counter either.
This change afforded Lily a kind of freedom that she had never enjoyed before. It felt like a dream come true for Lily. She also enjoyed watching the carefully crafted personas of people crash and their true faces exposed. It could be said that Lily was having the time of her life.
Just as Lily was adapting to these changes and learning to enjoy life, many others were doing the same. Lily’s parents were money-minded but hardworking people, so when their true nature was exposed, their value in office increased exponentially. Their business-minded boss decided to capitalise on their nature and gave them promotions.
Similarly, many other people around the town recognised their true talents and moved jobs. New jobs were created after discovering the benefits of capitalising on people’s talents. People with honesty, bravery, and responsibility were handed jobs that used these qualities, like supervisors, security officers, public safety officials, etc.
Even people with despicable qualities found their niche. While everyone knew about their bad qualities, these people decided to use their talents in entertainment business. Tricksters, con artists, rakes, etc., channelled their inner thoughts into plays, movie scripts, acting, etc. In this way, life came back to normal. The only difference was that everyone was much happier doing a job they liked and living a life they enjoyed.
Random Musings 
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