Book of the Ages

In reality, lives are phases. We begin as children, grow into adults then fade away as elderly. We all begin as children. Many of us die before adulthood. Many adults die before elderly. The phases are what they are regardless.

In fiction, ages are not phases. They are personality traits. The innocent or ignorant are children. The good or evil are adults. The wise or weary are elderly.

In my novel The Wayward School for Girls most people are children. They are either innocent or ignorant, as most people are in reality. They are small and weak, as most people are in the grand scheme of our actual world.

Most adults are invisible in the Weird World of the novel. They can be heard but not seen. In reality, we make our voices heard but collectively. We are seldom recognized individually.

Authority is visible adulthood. Such individuals are both seen and heard, even if nameless. They are typically evil, no longer children because they lost their innocence.

The elderly are visible. They are either weary children soon to fade away or wise and immortal. In reality, the very old are noticeable. They are either feeble and need help or accomplished and venerable.

Age is not just a number. It is what it is regardless of our attitudes. We are small and weak as children. We do have responsibilities as adults. We are at our best or worst as individuals when elderly. I am mindful of this.