Why Would You Lie?

"What if everything I told you was a lie?" Asked my best friend Emma. Confused and skeptical, I had no response.

"Well, What if. What would you do?" Emma gave me a clever smile and laughed a little. "You wouldn't tell if it were true or not." She turned around with a slightly larger smile. "Figure out the truth."

"The truth? Haven't you told me everything already? We're best friends! Why would you lie?" I asked, she must be joking. Emma was like that.

"As I said earlier, you wouldn't be able to tell otherwise." She started to walk away when she stopped. "Let me ask you this one question: Can you really trust everything you hear?"

"Well... no. But we're friends, I should be able to trust you." I was starting to panic. Why was she doing this?
"Should be able to. But can you? That is the question."
"What? Of course I can. Right?"

She looked back with a mischievous smile. "Ask yourself that question. 'Should you trust yourself?' That's what you should be wondering."

"Are you just trying to get me to not trust you?"
She was almost out of sight when she faintly said: "Am I?"

Scared and confused, I ran to her. She was nowhere to be seen. I looked around; no sign of Emma anywhere. I ran to her house, hoping her parents would explain everything. But when I rang the door bell an old man answered. What had happened to the Blacks?

"Good evening, ma'am," he said faintly. "You must be that girl Emma was talking about. I am glad to finally meet you."
"Wait, sir, you know me?" I said. What else was I supposed to say? I was in fear.
"Of course I know you! Come in my child."

There was something about the man that bothered me.
"Why should I come in?" I asked, desperately wanting to go home.
"This is Emma's house. You're her best friend, you should feel comfortable coming into her house.

I was comfortable with going into Emma's house, but not when there was a creepy old man already there. Even more so when Emma wasn't there at all.

"I prefer not to, but thank you," I said, waving my arm and leaving her patio. Suddenly Emma appeared in front of me.

"Where are you going Marie? Don't you want to come inside?" The way she said this made me want to run, but my feet seemed stuck on the ground. As if I were trying to run through tar.

A tingling feeling went down my back. Something wasn't right.
"Who is this man, Emma? Are you related to him at all?"
Emma laughed, not trying to hold anything inside. "He's not related to me. He's just a friend of my grandfather. That's all."
I doubted her explanation. "Is that really true, Emma?"

Emma winked at me and smiled. "Clever, Marie. Clever. You are learning, you may not realize this but you are. Now are you coming inside or not? It's cold out here, come on!"

Emma and her grandfather's friend walked inside, leaving me with the choice of coming or going. I watched as Emma disappeared into the brightly lit house that was filled with laughter. Taking one last look outside, I followed her in.

The door closed behind me. I didn't know what to do. I was scared. Was this really her grandfather's friend? Was this really her house. Most of all, was Emma even my friend? So many questions ran through my head, I could only focus on one: Why was she doing this to me?

"Marie, this is my Uncle Fred." Said Emma pointing to a pudgy man next to her. Her grandfather's friend was nowhere to be seen. Was this some sort of trick? Why was her head flowing with ideas. She hadn't thought about any of this before she went into the house, so why now?