[ WP ] In this world , physical appearance depends entirely on personality . All babies are born identical . Beauty is achieved gradually through good thoughts and deeds , while the opposite is true for ugliness .

Stanley's walk was more of a foot dragging shuffle, his hands tucked in his pockets and his eyes downturned. He did n't look at the sea of beautiful faces walking down the street. They occasionally glanced at him, and he felt sure without having to look that when they did they more often than not smirked at what they saw. So what? 
 
 He knew he was nobody's idea of handsome, and he understood what that meant to them. They knew he was not noble. They knew he was not accomplished or ambitious. They knew it all at a glance: He did n't long to save the world, feed the hungry, shelter the poor, or end the suffering of his fellow men. 
 
 He was nobody's idea of ugly either, of course. He had never killed, or raped, or robbed, or knowingly cheated anyone. If he found money in the street, he would not go out of his way to find its owner and return it. But neither would he pick someone's pocket to get that money. So at least he had that going for him. 
 
 But it was never enough. The twisted leering wretches that occasionally turned up in society were quickly imprisoned or put down ( mercifully, of course ); but that did n't mean that people would n't look at someone like Stanley with quiet disdain. In a world such as this, where beauty and ugliness both were created qualities, there was no way to hide behind the anonymity of simply not being known to someone, because even a perfect stranger could read your character at first glance. 
 
 Stanley kept his gaze down, and he schooled his mind to quiet acceptance of reality. He did this because it was the only way to keep himself from condemning the hypocrites he knew walked their ranks. He knew full well that there were specialized surgeons who could compensate by putting right what a lifetime of bad character decisions had put wrong. It was always temporary, of course, but you would be surprised how much people would pay to hide their mistakes, even for a little while. But condemning them for it would simply make Stanley's own situation worse, since the simple act of judging others would, over time, add wrinkles and dark splotches to your face. 
 
 At last Stanley arrived at the small grassy space near the center of downtown. It was a simple but lovely stretch of city park where the pretty people liked to walk on their lunch hours, wishing to be seen before the years of pridefully showing off their virtue ate into their looks as they aged. Stanley did n't care about them one way or the other. And he did n't necessarily care about the loveliness of the park either. He was there looking for one person in particular. 
 
 He spotted her on a wooden bench near the freshly blossoming hydrangea, which she gazed upon with a soft wistful half smile that ironically made her look sadder rather than happier. She was thin almost to the point of boyishness and her mousy brown hair was plain and straight. Her features were quite ordinary, and her eyes a rather dullish shade of gray. No one else gave her even so much as a second glance as they passed, but Stanley could not take his eyes off her. 
 
 He reach into his jacket and withdrew the single yellow rose he had tucked away there to protect it, and he approached. When he had drawn near enough to her, she looked up, spotted him, and he held out the rose to her. She stood up from her bench and took the rose with one hand. Her face brightened into a broader and warmer smile that shot through him like sunbeams through a stained glass window. She placed her other hand upon his arm and stepped in close to kiss him on the cheek. `` There you are, my love,'' she whispered into his ear. 
 
 She locked her arm in his and breathed in the scent of the rose, and now they both smiled as they walked away down the street together. They were so enraptured with one another, that they remained blissfully unaware of the many stares they received, as startled passersby wondered who this attractive couple was, and where they had suddenly come from. 

