Gerald was an unusual kid

intelligent but socially awkward

never mixing with others at school

a loner who was often bullied

one time he fought back intensely

beating the bully to a pulp

the school decided Gerald was a problem

even though the bully had started it

he was sent for psychiatric evaluation

answering all the questions honestly

then came the ink blot test

he was shown a series of weired shapes

told to say what he saw in them

he studied each one intensely

but they all meant nothing to him

he felt under pressure to say something

fearing that he would fail the test

so Gerald started to give random answers

that looks like a space ship

two monkeys fighting

an atomic bomb

an old man with a walking stick

a pregnant lady

a plane crash

his responses were all duly noted

Gerald was diagnosed to be mentally ill

all from the ink blot tests

he spent many years in a mental institution

well into his adult life

he was subject to an annual evaluation

to determine the extent of his mental illness

most of the time he refused to answer the questions

and was kept in the institution another year

he stayed withdrawn but studied intensely

became an expert in psychology

at his next evaluation he started to answer questions

gave an in depth presentation on ink blot tests

showing how they were totally unsuitable and inaccurate

Gerald was deemed to be safe for society

he was released and went on to become a child phycologist

helping parents with difficult children

he never used the ink blot tests

they had long since been discredited by his profession

he became a world expert in his field

traveling the world and collecting art along the way

he built a fabulous home and raised his own family

hosting dinner parties and raising funds for children’s charities

visitors were enthralled by his art collections

he liked showing his collection from all over the world

he described his most beloved pieces as pure abstract art from an unkown artist

almost all his guests accepted his explanation

but they were in fact the original ink blot tests that incarcerated him as a child