I’m going to be as vague as possible about the identify of this person while still giving the amount of detail necessary: There was this guy I went to grad school with. He studied in the same department but he was in a slightly different program, one that took one student a year out of dozens of applicants. He is the single most brilliant person I’ve ever met in my life. He’s the kind of person who makes you wonder if he has some sort of crazy genetic mutation that allows his brain to work far above the capacity of normal human beings. He spoke something like ten languages fluently, even mastering their accents. Every other person I’ve ever met who I would describe as being around that level of intelligence also tended to experience at least some level of existential angst, or an inability to really connect with other human beings on a level that they’d find fulfilling. This guy wasn’t like that at all. He was always smiling and saw the bright side in every situation while also being sympathetic when you were having a hard time, he was a great listener, was always dependable—just the sort of person who made you feel comfortable and at ease. I would usually be intimidated by that level of intelligence but I never felt that way around him. We became really good friends over the two years I knew him, but we gradually lost touch after I left.

A few years later, I found out that the entire time, he was having this tormented and sadistic relationship with a very young student of his, and the details of it all were just…creepy. Definitely not what I would have expected, and I consider myself a pretty good judge of character. I guess people are often much more complicated than you know.

…aaaaand I just realized yet again that I posted about something super dark.