Wood and String

There was once a boy of wood and string
Who dangled about lifelessly
But lifeless he was not
As one little girl would discover
When she found him waiting in the attic

Her eyes gazed in wonder, deeply, at the boy
'Hello, boy..' she tenderly whispered
Not expecting a response
But the moment she tickled his strings
The boy began to dance!

Happily he performed for her
She resonated such light, such warmth
Anything to please her was his joy
In return for the gift her touch blessed him with
Tickling those delicate bonds of his

It was life, her touch, it was meaning
He lived for her!

Every day the girl came to see him
Strings in a silly frenzy, a smile
On his still, wooden face
She was so delighted by his devotion
She finally felt like she was special

His movements were like lyrics
Her graceful fingers playing upon a harp
It was a song...
One they would always share with each other

Until as time blew on
The special girl found other boys to play with
They didn't make her feel special
But that's not all she needed
What she needed was a real boy, you see

Her enchanted puppet dangled alone again
Waiting faithfully in the attic
Unaware she had moved on
Yet feeling nonetheless unloved

Sometimes he could hear her talking
In her bedroom below
And sometimes a deeper voice responded
Making his heart cringe with every syllable

A heart..?

He felt a heavy thumping in his little chest
And suddenly, with sparkle
His wooden hands began to move
Then his feet, and legs too!

Like a fly in a spider's web
His strings stretched tight
But they couldn't restrain him
From the girl who gave him life...

When she got home that evening
Her eyes never happened upon him
Sitting on her dresser loyally
Instead she got into her pajamas
And crawled straight under the covers

So much taller, but still the same eyes
If a bit less bright and adoring
'How long has it been..?', he cried inside
'And why has she changed?'

He sat there motionless through the night
As he had every other
Imagining what he should do
Wishing she would love him...

Just when he thought he had the courage
Sunlight peeked in her window
And she sat up in bed with a cute yawn
Her eyes drew to her puppet
Finally she saw him!

Perhaps she could feel it
His heart beating over there..

Smiling a little bit
She gave him a small kiss
Not thinking twice of it
She got her clothes from her drawers
And scrambled her way off to college

Secretly he was aflutter
And his tiny heart swelled
Tonight would definitely be the night
That he told her he loved her

Climbing up to her window
He watched her drive off
Before finding himself entranced
By the way the autumn leaves swayed
In the morning sunlight near the glass

There was so much out there
So much he'd never seen
He dreamed of her showing him
He waited the rest of the day with glee

That night she got home
Later than the night before
He watched in despair, and agony
As she hugged her boyfriend at the door..

His was surely the voice he had heard before..

'I was too late...' he screamed internally
His newly beating heart was already breaking
And in all of his passion
He almost didn't want to keep living

The girl lay in bed at peace later on
Her soft face lit so prettily by the moon

A set of slender fingers slipped into her hair
And a gentle voice mustered it's first words
Next to her sweet ear

'I know I couldn't be what you needed all this time
And I'm sorry..
But I'm here now, and I've always loved you..'

The girl's precious eyes slowly opened
And gazed up into his as they watched over her
At first with surprise
But soon, with endearment..

She recognized those eyes
And although they were now human
Once they belonged
To her small wooden companion

'Hello, boy..' she tenderly whispered..

The boy's lips curved a bit
Smiling at her beauty in the barely lit room
His eyes twinkled with sadness and longing

She reached up and touched his fresh face
It wasn't a dream?
Emotion overtook her, and she sat up immediately
Throwing her arms around his neck
She pulled him to her

He softened and gave to her will
Surprised at her, grateful

She hadn't forgotten him..

'I've been waiting for so long for someone
Who made me feel as special as you did...
But they never came,
And I had lost hope in love'

As she continued to explain, he was told
The other boy she was with tonight
It turned out, was her brother!

He squeezed her in his warm arms
Amazed at the sensation of simply feeling her
The rest of her life, he would make sure,
Would be filled with bliss like no other

She smiled and snuck a shy kiss to his lips
And, no longer wooden..

He could finally return it.



<3