The miniature twinkle lights did little to brighten the quickly falling night. Their meager rays reaching out only to be swallowed by the silent shroud of darkness. I stand here wordlessly, mutely observing.

All around me, vibrant colors swirl, and music meets my ears, but I take no part in the merry making.

It astounds me, it truly does, the nature of the things one can hear, if only you should stop to listen. This fact, this one minuet piece of truth, troubles my mind. Does no one have secrets anymore?

In my humble opinion, secrets are rather important to a person. They allow us to, if nothing else, admit things to ourselves. They permit us to think the words that we could never conceivably utter aloud.Everyone has these things.

These intricate puzzle pieces stay hidden, constricted to the deep crevices of our minds, kept safe from the world. These recesses are our only defense. Having the ability to pick and choose what we share with others allows us to each paint our own masterpieces. Each and every one of us can create the image of the person that we wish others to perceive us to be.

The places in which these covert truths would fit aren't left empty for others to see and interpret.We fill in the chasms left behind with useless bows and glitter. After all the razzle dazzling, no one would ever guess what exactly these things are we try so hard to cover up. No one can guess, but everyone knows somewhere in your mind lies a dark secret, an indiscretion that's not worth its repercussions.

Now as I stand here, a silent observer of this nights festivities, my mind wanders upon a truly disturbing thought. What if no one bothered to fill these gaps? What if no one even bothered to hide these reticent facts in the first place? What if there were no secrets at all?

The world would be a dreadful place. No one would be able to see past the mistakes we as humans make in life. Every lapse in judgment you have ever had would be set forth for all to see and criticize. Then it hits me. The horrendous realization crashes over me like a choppy ocean wave over a simple sailboat. Society as we know it would come crashing down upon our unsuspecting heads. No person on this earth would be able to look past the now filled in gaps. No one would like each other.

Every minute of every day we are being judged by one person or another. You can say that you don't make judgments about others, but you would also be lying. Whether you act on these judgments or not is another matter entirely. These quick judgments are what would destroy our world should we stopped keeping our secrets.

The music continues and the girls still twirl upon tiptoe, but I have had enough fun for one night. As I descend the stairs toward the exit a strange sense of ease falls upon me. Tonight I've learned a lot and yet am left for more questions than answers, but I guess even life itself has its secrets.