Watch out for the sweet talkers.

They are enticing, alluring, instantly gratifying. They understand the value of words and the effect they can have on someone else. They ooze charm, golden compliments and lines pouring out of their mouths like warm honey, thick and sweet. Their words spread into your ears, seeping down into your heart and slowly filling in every nook and cranny, every thought and feeling, until everything they say becomes drenched.

At first, the draw of the sugar is exciting and tempting. It’s a high that makes your heart race and your pulse quicken. One taste and you’re hooked. You think you’ll just give in to temptation every now and then – what’s the danger? But soon their words, sugar-coated and delicious to the ears, become a craving. Then an addiction.

You surround yourself in their sweetened lies, building a fortress behind good feelings and insincere compliments. But what happens when true emotion swoops in? Sugar walls dissolve when tears touch them; the sweet talkers are not built for real life.

The sweet talkers rely on their caramelized compliments to persuade you, to manipulate you. You crave their words and approval; the more you have, the more desperate you become for more, more, more, until they rot you from the inside out.

The high is intoxicating, but of course, then comes the imminent crash. The rough sugar crystals have eroded your feelings, the lack of real nutrients has left you weak. Nothing of substance remains; your hands are sticky with resentment, your heart full of cavities.

You may catch more flies with honey, but don’t forget what flies suggest – rot, spoilage, decay. Eventually these sweet words will crystallize. They will crack and they will break. They will shatter you.