Some people think a perfect picture comes from the film of a camera, taking in what the holder of the camera is seeing. You can focus in and out, adjust the sight, take out light, and even block out the sunrays by a push of a button that technology has provided for you. As soon as you print out your pictures you become amazed at how beautiful it is. Some people think a perfect picture is a painting or drawing. As the artist transforms what they are seeing in their mind, they bring it to life by using different shapes and angles, multiple colors and different degrees of shades, moving in a rhythm. Now, what was just a blank piece of paper or surface has become the artist's reality. I agree with the people who think these could be products of a perfect picture, but within those pictures, a great deal of emotions are being well hidden. Look beyond that actual picture shown. What's hurting in it deep down inside? What are the feelings behind it? What is the picture scared to reveal? Can you see the struggles, the hurt, and the pain? Can you see the rips and tears, the ups and downs of that particular picture's life? These pictures want you to see one thing only and that is the visual that you are seeing of that picture's life at that present time. My perfect picture is a puzzle. It's a puzzle because it had to put its life together one piece at a time. A puzzle hides nothing from its viewers. Every fragmented piece signifies an element of its life, and it exposes to you, all of the obstacles that it had to face and conquer, in order to be whole. The indentations in the puzzle are showing the viewer its trials and tribulations throughout life; what it has been through, what it has seen and what has become of it. This novel is going to boldly show you why there are cracks in my perfect picture. A mother's love is supposed to be unconditional. Not for Truth. Kicked out of the house at age thirteen, Truth never looked back. Instead, he searched desperately to fill the void by embracing a life of crime, sex, and money. Still, a piece was missing from the puzzle. But what was it? Truth had it made. He was a teenager walking in a grown man's shoes. Dirty money. Plenty woman. Respected in the streets by many and betrayed by few. Hell, he was a Gangsta. But his heart was empty. At an early age, life taught Truth to trust no one. Despite that, Truth wanted love and more than that he wanted a family, all under one roof. Family was foreign to Truth. He was used to being on his own, grinding and being a playa. But then he met Crystal. Crystal was his heartbeat, she thought by giving him a child it would get him out of the streets. They were both the age of twenty when they got married, and even though Truth made vows to his newly begotten Wife, his involvement in the streets played a major role in his life. Truth told Crystal about a lick (robbery) him and Tiffany was going to hit. Crystal quickly reminded Truth that he had a family now and that lifestyle he needed to end. The corruption of the justice system forced Truth to plead to a sentence of five years to the door with no possibility for parole. Truth left his family behind. Losing everything... his freedom, his family, the record label deals. Year after year, living within the concrete walls, Truth had to contain himself because one wrong move could cause him to serve life in prison. Went in as a man, came out as a man. The crack that was once small has now turned into many in his perfect picture.