Imagine a person standing in the middle of a ruined building. The building would be half made of ash, maybe some iron hanging like a corpse on a hangman’s rope. They look at their right hand and they see a box of used matches. They look at their left hand and they see ash. Hours before, they thought it was a good idea to set a random paper on fire. This idea might seem harmless, right? Well the fire spread towards the walls. The walls were made from wood. Chaos erupted while they ran, feeling helpless in a remote area. They never intended for things to escalate. They just wanted chemistry to do its work on a small piece of paper. Instead, they saw chemistry do its work on a building. This is an example of how people underestimate the risk when they say "it's just a fire”. This is a fire that might swallow them whole.

The same thing happens with a white lie. Some people think that a white lie is supposed to protect. That it should soften things for a while. That it’s completely harmless. What they don’t see are the consequences. Some people don’t face any. This is good for them. But there are things that are exceptional, especially sensitive topics. When a mother tells her child that his father is working late when in reality he abandoned them, she is allowing the child to hold on to false hope. She's also just distancing the mess for a temporary time. What comes next can destroy that child’s entire life, especially mentally. After the lie, the child waits desperately for a long-gone person. Then, they demand their father’s presence because they simply miss him. The mother tries to create more lies. She might even start smiling more often, hiding a lie that she began to believe. This is how a lie evolves into something way worse. Eventually the child will grow up with trust issues.

Another factor can be either addiction, or a debt perhaps. How does addiction actually start? It might be curiosity. Sometimes curiosity is a small step towards the worst. That’s why when we use curiosity, we have to be wary. Otherwise curiosity is dangerous. An adolescent might convince himself that he is just trying something new. He says that he will stop on the first try. Then he may end up enjoying what he has tried. Then he is going to convince himself that he can control the portions he takes. The famous last words before the real mess starts are: “One time won’t hurt”. After that, he had successfully lost control over the situation. Long term effects may fall on him depending on the substance he got addicted to. Sometimes addiction can be other than a substance. It can be a person.

How does a debt start? Well debt is a different kind of story. Some debts, like student loans, are unavoidable and that's a completely different topic. What can be avoidable, however, is debt that is caused by lack of control and patience. Some people want to follow the recent trendy clothes for example. These clothes might actually be expensive. Not everyone unfortunately understands that clothes were meant to cover the naked body. The fashion market never cares about simply clothing a body. It cares about status. It cares about gaining profit by poisoning people’s minds. Some people might have a lower pay raise than the others which results in them being obliged to ask for money from someone just to buy whatever they want. They promise themselves that they’ll repay the debt whenever they can. Instead, driven by the trend dictator, the debts keep on piling up. They might eventually face jail time, get beaten up, or the worst of all is: getting killed. Some might find it extreme, but owing the wrong people, especially underground people, is a no joke.

In the end, every time you try to hide the truth with a smile, let curiosity drive you, or act without thinking about the future, remember the first scene. Remember that you expected to see a few ashes, but ended up with the ashes of an entire building. The consequences can be either mental, physical, or financial. Every bad story starts with a lie, and every good story starts with acknowledging the reality of the situation with maturity even if the truth might sting. It is way better than to be hit with brutal consequences of avoidable actions.