Animal Mask

Animal masks.

I will never forget my encounter with such a holy relic.

Stumbling across an eBay listing on a lonely Tuesday night, I placed my bids and waited in anticipation for its arrival. I was inspired.

Unboxing the natural, fully cardboard box revealed a thick layer of bubble wrap. The dim light from the average working adult’s laptop was mildly reflected in the translucent sheet. Absolutely marvellous.

I slowly hoisted the object out of the box and carefully peeled the plastic. It revealed an animal mask. Particularly- the chicken mask.

There are different masks made of different materials in this world. Most masks tend to be kids’ play- they are simply made with plastic. I would never don such a mask.

This particular mask that made its arrival was a stunner. Said to be handcrafted (though I’d probably think it was simply made in a factory), it was fully made of latex.

Latex, is a material that can be found in nature. Though most commercial latexes tend to be half synthetic, there is, at least, still a trace of nature in this material.

I stared into the eyes of the mask.

Without hesitation, I placed it over my head, and aligned my sight of view into the holes.

The thick smell of rubber.

The somewhat rough and sticky feel of the material.

Empowering.

The mask, the chicken mask, made me one with the world. I truly felt out of place in this cruel and dull world. I truly felt that I was one with nature. The chicken mask made me think of many things. What for would man lock such powerless birds in dark and cold cages? What for would man torment such helpless creatures? What for would man massacre such cute, tiny, flappy guys just to fill their digestive tracts?

These answers would never be answered for I have been a sinner for most of my life- I peeked a little to the left, turning away as my eyes met with my half finished Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Would I truly feel like I belonged to nature?

It was the longest five minutes I ever had in my life.