The Fury

by Alex Michaelides

Now, I know only this for sure—the first half of life is pure selfishness; the second half, all grief.

But spells don’t last forever, you know. One day, the spell breaks, the enchantment ends; the illusion is over. And nothing is left but thin air.

“Our motivation is to remove pain.” There you have it. So simple, yet so profound. Our motivation is always pain.

Barbara West once told me an old writing trick—where you give currency to a specific person, or object, by including them in a choice between two alternatives. What you are prepared to give up for something tells us everything about how much you value it.

I see now that’s exactly where I took a wrong turn in my thinking. I didn’t anticipate how real it would feel. I got so caught up with the twists and turns of the plot, I didn’t think of how it would affect everyone emotionally—and that, therefore, people might react in highly unpredictable ways.

“He meant our true self only appears when there is no one to perform to—no audience, no applause. No expectation to be met. Playing serves no practical purpose, I suppose, and requires no reward. It is its own reward.”