Puppet on Strings

Welcome. Welcome to a world where everyone is a puppet. You are literally made of wood and hang by strings. Though you can move without those strings you are not permitted to. Not until the Daily Time of Repair or DTR as they call it. During this time we are allowed to unhook our strings and move around on our own.

We can do almost everything we want as long as it doesn't interfere with the following rules.
Rule number 1: Do not move unless moved by the Puppet Master or if it is the Daily Time of Repair.
Rule number 2: Do not speak until the Daily Time of Repair.
Rule number 3: Do not remove your strings until the Daily Time of Repair.
Rule number 4: You are not permitted to leave the designated area.
Rule number 5: You must be ready and hanging from your numbered shelf prepared to be used again by the end of the Daily Time of Repair at 7:30 am sharp.
Rule number 6: You must never ever open the Pocket Watch Door at the end of the Hallway. Anyone caught trying to open the door will be charged of the highest offense and expelled immediately.

No one really knows what being expelled is like. No one knows what it is. For anyone who is expelled never comes back. You never see them again. Rumors spread that when you are expelled, the Puppet Master uses your wood to make new puppets. After all the next day a new puppet shows up. Though you can never really tell if it is the same wood because all the puppets crafted by the Puppet Master are always delicately made and come out fine and detailed. It looks brand new if it is indeed the same wood.

During the DTR we mostly repaint our faces and make new clothes and wigs for ourselves. The Puppet Master provides us with all the supplies we need to keep in mint condition and we are ordered not to waste things unnecessarily. If someone breaks something we must report it immediately so that it may be replaced. We do not get in trouble unless we try to hide it or if we lie. As bad as the Puppet Master may seem, he's really not very mean at all. It is all for us puppets' safety and environmental interactions. For the people expelled are normally bad for the community and would become bad influences to rest of us. Not to mention sometimes he visits us during the DTR and talks to us and just hangs out. He is very tall but gentle. Though his skin is not made out of wood. He has this warm pink squishy skin. But it's alright some of the puppets paint their skin to be the same color as his even. We look up to him.

My name is Lacey. I have no middle name nor last name. No one does. I have sandy brown hair down to just bellow my shoulders that layer all the way down to my waist in the front. I have jagged bangs as well. I have light blue eyes and deep peach color for my lips. My wood is made from mahogony and has a proper layer of polish to make it shiny. Most puppets say I am beautiful. That's because I was made from the Master. Not everyone has the honor of being carved by the Puppet Master. I make my own clothing. Most think that it is intriguing than most and very detailed as well. My clothes are normally mixed together with many designs. I enjoy my life here. It is organized and fun. But sometimes I wonder. What's behind that Pocket Watch Door? I freeze and change the subject in my mind. I will not be expelled. Not Yet.

Us puppets act in our own plays and performances too. It's very fun. We make costumes and the production of the play is a huge celebration. The Puppet Master comes and everything.

One day the Master didn't come. We waited and waited but the Puppet Master didn't come back. Everyone became suspicious and many were panicked. We didn't know what to do. So after about a week, a lot of puppets stopped working. They were frozen on the ground nonliving. Only a few were left. Me and some others. Finally I couldn't take it anymore. I walked over to the humongous Pocket Watch Door that the Master disappeared through everyday. I pushed it open slowly expecting to get grabbed and expelled. But nothing happened. It was cold and dark. Everything was frozen with an unexpected eeriness.

I walked over to a chair that had fallen over. There were parts of puppets hanging every which way and that. I looked around then stopped I saw a desk across the room. There lay Master. He was different though. We was no longer wearing his long sleeved robe. In fact everything above his waist was bare. I stood there in shock as I approached closer. As I veered closer I began to see the round spheres holding the joints of his body together. There was a small wind up key in the middle of his back too. I Stared with wide eyes. He too was a puppet. Just a huge wind-able ball jointed puppet. He seemed so cold now his head leaning on his desk with an unfinished puppet around his hands. He stared out into space his eyes lifeless. I started to notice the remaining puppets were slowly creeping in too.

I knew what I had to do though. I climbed up the chair and struggled to keep my balance as I neared the top. I looked at the staring faces of the other puppets then turned around and grabbed the key. I winded it back then let it go. Immediately his eyes moved around and blinked and his sat up and looked at me. I stared at him and he looked at me and the other puppets. Then he smiled put his large hand on my head and ruffled my hair. I, for the first time, was able to smile back sincerely without the strings and the controlling devises a puppet is plagued with.


The End.