Mind you, I'm only in grade 9, so don't judge too hard :(
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I gazed out the attic window with my glassy eyes. The heavy pitter patter of the rain on the windowpane was like a brigade of tiny jackhammers on my wooden heart.
Blue sky, why are you crying?
My limbs sat unmoving on the wooden ledge, thin cords hanging down limply from my wrists, my ankles…
I remembered her clearly. She had smiling eyes, and a laugh like the soft tinkling of fairy bells. Smiling the whole time, she slowly carved me out of lime wood. She attached wires to my limbs and body and breathed life into me. Beautiful dresses, loving audiences… it was all so short-lived.
Why did it have to end?
Memories of my puppeteer came with a stab of cold nostalgia. Without her, what was I? When she disappeared from my side, she had left me with nothing. No movement, no laughter, just other old broken toys and dust motes for companions in this beaten down attic.
I was only a shadow of the soul I used to be. My lacy black velvet dress had dust layered on like Christmas Day snow, the expensive fabric serving as a walk-in diner for moths. My long hair which she used to brush every day had lost its golden lustre after years of being bleached by the cruel sun.
Once more.
I felt a tug on my wrist.
Just once more… Let me dance again.
*
Suddenly, that same cruel sun broke free of the clouds, and molten light poured into the small room. The rays glinted off her hair; she seemed to glow. She smiled at me and held out her hands. Her lips whispered my name.
“I missed you!†she giggled.
*
The cracked attic floor was my stage. The sun was my spotlight. Her smooth soprano was my melody.
Spinning and twirling… it was like no time had passed at all. I heard the whisper of my feet brushing the floorboards and the swish of my dress through the air.
The boxes around me vanished, replaced by the audience I knew so well. For a moment, I forgot my years of anguish, alone on the windowsill, all that existed was this—the simple movement that I had repeated countless times, always with her behind me. My creator, my mentor, my best friend… my puppeteer.
I could feel my heart mending, and I felt like maybe, just maybe, I could smile again.
The light soon turned pink, then red. Soon after, silky darkness enveloped the world and the moon appeared to light my stage while the sun slept.
I felt no fatigue, no wish to rest or to sleep. My selfish heart only wanted to stay with her forever, to perform and to be loved.
I missed you too.
*
“I’m sorry I left you,†she said softly, “Forgive me.â€
I didn’t know why I hesitated. I was happy that she had returned and yet… something inside me still felt the sorrow that I had become accustomed to.
There’s nothing to forgive.
Did I lie?
*
“Thank you.â€
The strings holding me up loosened, and I felt my body going limp. I watched as her kind smile faded before my eyes.
*
I knew it was my last dance. Is that why I felt this way?
*
The rain was loud.
My eyes opened, and once again I saw my dusty dress, the frayed cords, and the rain droplets on the windowpane casting rainbows on my hair.
I felt myself falling. The window shrunk farther and farther away from me.
The dust on my dress flew into the air, swirling around me as I dropped.
Down…
Down…
Down…
I miss you.
Clatter.
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I was going to put the "Clatter" in italics, but I ended up putting in some thoughts of the marionette which proved to be problematic :I