I was at a birthday party , with air filled with cheer and laughter. The aroma of freshly made pizzas and fizz added to the merriment… Praises and pleasantries were exchanged generously by the guests and the host.

In a while the host realised the absence of an invitee. Promptly a friend of the missing person explained that the person has gone to a funeral. The host sympathized, how sad it was that everybody gets to celebrate at his house while there is a another house in weeping..

Little could I relate to the sympathies of the host for I sensed an air of ingenuity. I was the last guest to leave when I heard the host say that the friend who couldn’t attend the party didn’t care to call or apologize and he would not invite him for the next party.. And that friend wasn’t invited to the next party .

Sympathies are fake.. a shower of solemn words in public, sad enough to seek attention and strong enough to backstab.