The Marionette and the Puppeteer

You unconsciously rise in my mind from time to time, unbidden and unwelcome. I feel that I owe it to myself to be better than you, like there's some competition being run and I must be in the lead. I simply cannot let that go, and for that reason, you and I are still tied. You are still the puppeteer and I am yet the marionette. Tell me, when do I become my own person? When do you disappear?

I don't want these feelings. This freedom from you is an illusion; the memories and thoughts of you are still my cage. Strange, isn't it? But I do not often think of you, but just know that when I do, I don't regret our past. The only thing I want is to be better than anything you could ever be. You may still pull the strings, but that is only because your actions inspire me to work harder, and I, the marionette, act against you. Never fear, one day the master will become the apprentice, and on that day, I shall be somewhere you could never reach, somewhere high above you. One day, you'll wish you were me. I promise you that today, certain to hold true; you'll remember that I do not break my promises.