Chapter One - Born Into the Lie

CHAPTER ONE

Born Into the Lie

SIDDHARTHA GAUTAMA WAS born in Lumbini, to a king and queen.
His father ruled the Shakya clan. His mother died a few days after he was born.

Right out the gate, the story was bigger than him.

A prophecy said he’d become either a powerful king or a spiritual leader.
His father chose king — and tried to trap the prophecy in a cage of comfort.

He built Sidd a world where nothing went wrong.
No sickness. No death. No aging. No sadness.
Just festivals, servants, food, dancing, and distraction.

Sidd didn’t grow up poor, or bored.
He grew up surrounded by everything —
except the truth.

Even as a kid, he noticed things didn’t add up.
The way people avoided questions.
The way pain was hidden, not healed.
The way his father reacted to even the mention of suffering.

Sidd wasn’t rebellious.
He was curious.

But curiosity in a fake world is dangerous.

He grew up. Got married. Had a son.

And the whole time, something was gnawing at him.
A kind of soft dread. Like he knew the story wasn’t complete.

“Why is everyone pretending? What are they so afraid of?”

He didn’t know what was missing —
only that something was.

So one day, he asked to leave the palace.

Just a short ride through the city.