Comatose Puppet

Welcome! This is a piece I wrote in December 2022, thought this might be a good starting place for the blog. Note the mini-essay may be a little heavy or slightly angsty (?) for some, but it's not a difficult read (I hope) so please enjoy it and let me know what you think in the comments!

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Darkness.

An abyss of darkness.

Soft whirring sounds circle my head like helicopters over a city. They sound disgruntled – angry. The scrape of metal, like lightning, was so quick that I was unsure if I had truly heard it. My eyes feel as though they have been open for an eternity and my jaw, loose. I cannot move.

I cannot move.

I have been rendered paralyzed, every limb is heavy. I try to scream but the abyss does not accept my wail, my plea. No sounds exit from my mouth. I have been stripped of my voice box and it has been replaced with… what has it been replaced with? What is my name? My worrisome thoughts are brought to an abrupt halt as my spangled legs and arms suddenly become lifted. They move on their own, along with my head, as though they are being pulled by the means of another. Free will is no longer mine and my body is not mine either. Although I am now held up, hovering over the floor, my body still feels taut yet flimsy– somewhat similar to that of a page in the wind. My limbs protest against the agony that is the pulling. Metal scrapes again but this time with it comes blinding lights. I expect tears to fall as my dry eyes burn from the sensation.

But no tears run.

I want to weep from the sheer torture I am being put through, but I cannot. My tear ducts are rendered empty as is the rest of me. My eyes, stiff as wood, adjust to the harsh means of illumination. There sit wide-eyed spectators, people. Finally! 'Save me' I want to shout but yet again my pleas are forsaken – gone and empty. Classical music starts, it's light, one could call it happy. But I am not allowed to enjoy it as the volume rises to an ear-shattering volume. Once again, I expect my ears to bleed or my eyes to tear and as previous events show, nothing happens.

"We present to you, Daphne…"

A deep voice booms through the air, slicing the loud music and creating once again an ambience that was the abyss. Darkness falls and my head is pushed to look at my knees. I am bowing, only now do I see the dress draped over my body – a hideous pink, a fleshy pink – lying on my knees and stopping at my calves. The music starts again, along with the light, and this time my body is swung about. 'Daphne', that is what that man said – my name? My body is moved around, wildly, but it must appear quite graceful to the spectators who watch as my limbs tear and realign continuously.

I'm tossed about again then dropped. This time I do not hear a thud, even though I feel as if my body aches from the fall. The lights shut down, no scraping metal. The abyss returns, but this time the whirring has vanished.

Open. Shut.

Open. Shut.

I can blink, the abyss has faded and made way for a hospital room. The smell of bleach and blood fills my nostrils. My remains aching, and my ears were still rendered useless from the music. I can move.

I can move.

Still in pain, I can move my hand. But something is not right. My fingers or rather what is supposed to be my fingers feel like mittens aside from my thumb. I fold my hand and peer down helplessly.

Strings lie all over my bed, connecting to my limbs – my body. They run with no end.

"Once again… Daphne…"

The voice cuts the silence that my ears had gifted me. I scream, kick about, and rock the bed. But I am just a Puppet after all…

By Taaraa Lakay

(Reminder not to steal others' work! And if you would like to use it (in any form) please do credit me, hope you have a great day honey!)