Puppet Strings

"𝐻𝑒𝓇"

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His life was better than most others. He had many friends; he had everything anyone could've ever wanted; he lived a life of luxury. Well, that's what it seemed like on the outside, at least. But on the inside, it was quite different. It was the opposite. Everything was dark, always empty. Whenever he looked up, he'd constantly see a hand; A hand with strings directly attached to parts of him. It controlled him. His emotions, his actions - basically his life. But every night, he would be able to control himself. The Hand would disappear, and he would be in control of himself, wherever he was. Every night he remembers everything that happened, whether it be the same day or in the past. He remembers the actions that he had no choice but to do. He'd remember and endure the pain of the consequences of those damned actions that he couldn't control. It was as if every night The Hand made him drown in the pain and sorrow that it had caused. He felt alone. Empty. Dead. He would cry at night, wishing for this torment of a life to end. But nothing could be done. Nothing would ever change. He thought this was the end. But something happened that altered this cycle of torture.

It was just an ordinary day for him at school. Being controlled, being all fake and lying to everyone. He would hang out with his "buddies" doing the things he used to enjoy. But now he could only pretend to be happy. It was just supposed to be another ordinary day of being fake. But today, The Hand made a mistake. Just for a moment, it lost control, and he had control of himself. For a brief moment, he had control of himself in broad daylight. He didn't know what to do. He froze and looked around. But it was all short-lived. The Hand immediately regained control and resumed him on his fake routine. "That was the only time... and I couldn't do anything.." He thought to himself. This was the end. He had accepted his fate. He knew he couldn't do anything anymore that could get him out. All his hope was lost.

But someone noticed it. Someone saw him, and they had noticed this fake charade. He noticed her. She noticed him. A small spark of hope ignited in him even if it was only one person. Even if it was only her. The Hand, who was too busy forcing him to be fake, had then realized what had just happened. It pulled the strings that connected to him and forced him to hide anything that could give it away. But it was already too late; she had already noticed. She saw through the fake charade.

She approached him and asked, "Hey... Is everything okay?" The Hand, in control, replied, "Oh, huh? Oh yeah. Haha! Nostalgia just suddenly hit me there, just reminded of something from when I was younger - That must've been weird for me just to freeze, sorry about that! Hehe.." He whispered under his breath in the darkroom, "Please notice..." She replied, "Oh.. Haha, sorry for bothering you. I thought something was wrong" She waved, then walked off, joining her friends. Twice. Twice. 2 Opportunities, and he couldn't do anything. Was this the end? He gave up and knelt in defeat. His life will forever be like this—an endless cycle of sorrow with no hope of a better tomorrow. Always being surrounded by an empty and dark void watching The Hand control his life and forcing him into making the choices with the worst consequences. This was the end. Or so he thought.

As he knelt in defeat, he felt a presence somewhere within the void. One that he hadn't felt before, but yet it felt familiar. It didn't fit in the void, for it felt warm and cozy while the void felt cold and empty. Yet the presence was the opposite. He looked around, looking for the cause. Where is it coming from? Is there someone else in this dark void? Yet, why is it different? He felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked back and jolted backward. "Who are you...?- How did you...?-" Questions poured out his mind. How is this possible? "We do not have much time! Quickly! This way!" The bright figure said. Without hesitation, he followed the girl that was shining like a diamond through the darkness.

But of course, a shining light in the darkness will always be noticed. The Hand saw her and immediately pulled the strings. It stopped him dead in his tracks. He couldn't move, no matter how hard he tried. The girl who was shining as bright as the sun pulled him as hard as she could, but he wouldn't budge. It was too late. "If only I had noticed sooner... I'm sorry," she said as she slowly started fading into the darkness. "Please..." A tear ran down his cheek. "Please!! Don't go...!" He shouted as he burst into tears. "Don't lose yourself.. I'm sorry I couldn't do it this time. Don't ever lose hope..!" She smiled as the darkness consumed the last of light that shone off her. Tears ran down his face; thoughts flooded his mind. 'That was it... my last chance... the only chance... That could've been it' Thoughts kept flowing and flowing until he lost himself. He was gone. That was it, and he knew. There was nothing more. In an instant, The Hand retook control and made him forget everything that had just happened. His vision became blurry; he started to lose consciousness. He tried to fight it, He sought to stay awake and remember everything, but it couldn't be done. He stumbles and falls on the floor of the darkroom. "Please... just please.."

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A/N: Woo! This a story that I wrote 4-5 years ago when I was 10, so please forgive me for the cringiness of the plot. I got bored one day and decided to rewrite the story with fixed grammar and hopefully better story-telling, while still being the same story. Got any suggestions? Leave a comment down below! But anyways, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter :) ❤~