Lady Folly
The counterfeit
The near-miss, not the opposite. She is beautiful, intelligent, charismatic and successful, and what she is offering is a shortcut — certainty, pleasure without consequence, knowledge without wisdom.
Her entire message is that you already know enough.
She is never ugly, never horned, never obviously villainous, and never shown making any effort at all. If you can identify her at a glance, she has been drawn wrong, because anything that lets you off the hook has missed her.
The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house… calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way. — Proverbs 9:13–15
The rule that never bends
Seated, settled, comfortable — the only figure in this cast at rest. Everyone else is mid-stride. That stillness is the tell, and it is the only one you get.
Why this one
Not written yet. This one is mine to tell and it stays empty until I do — a borrowed reason would defeat the point of the page.