Masked Puppet
#3 of Creepy Short Stories!
The stage curtains slowly open,
Shining the spotlight on these charcoal eyes.
Tight ropes pull him down into a paralysis state,
Keeping the actor in the sweet confines of the contented bed.
"The show must go on!"
A barely audible sentence flowing through the actor's mind.
A phrase frequently used by hollow shells
Like an accepted password,
the ropes begin to unravel.
The actor fumbles and falls upon the rigid,
gelid stage floor.
The audience unimpressed.
The front row glares,
The back row secretly slithers out the exit door.
With numbness, he is deprived of feeling.
Without a mouth, he is deprived of screaming.
The actor sluggishly drifts off stage among the wind,
Leisurely blowing from the side-stage air vents.
The haphazard prop closet holds an astounding gift
An array of faces stitched with the finest silk.
Such beauty shines upon the actor's non-existent eyes,
they look so practical, so naturalistic.
Yet, they feel so fabricated.
Such a tease.
Placing the face upon the empty head,
Strings pierce through the actor's withered skin.
Reflections show the strings,
contorting the novel mouth into a perfect smile.
It looks so practical, so naturalistic.
Yet, it feels so fabricated.
Walking upon the stage once more.
The strings pull the actor's vertebrae straight and erect,
Contorting the face into a look of confidence.
Words and emotions flood out of the novel mouth.
It sounds so practical, so naturalistic.
Yet, it feels so fabricated.
So vague,
Repressed.
The audience is impressed.
Such glorious sounds of shadows clapping and whistling.
Some even throw bouquets of thornless roses upon the frigid stage.
Idolizing a mere puppet upon the stage.
The actor contorts a sly smile,
Such desperation to feel.
He looks so practical, so naturalistic.
Yet, it feels so fabricated.