Wretched Puppets
I don't know why I came. I didn't have to, nobody forced me. Nothing stood in my way from simply tossing out the ticket that had arrived in my mail and pretending like it had never existed, so why didn't I? Was it merely my own morbid curiosity or something else; a force beyond my comprehension and outside of my control guiding me, I'm not entirely sure or which was the more palatable excuse.
After double checking the ticket, I sat down in my seat within the massive amphitheater. It wasn't full by any means, but there were certainly more people than I had thought there would be. Before long, a tall cloaked individual entered onto the stage and began to speak.
“We gather to judge as those selected by the free people, for the free people in accordance with the board. Let us begin. First to pitch their defence is one, Josephine of Stilwatersville, who is charged with the following crimes: theft, murder and worst of all…” The cloaked individual paused before continuing in a grandiose exclamation. “Witchcraft!”
Gasps and boos were launched as the accused woman was rushed onto the stage. I watched in horror as she struggled to muster the strength to speak against the swirling torrent of vitriol.
“I… I didn't do wh-” Displeasure from the crowd wouldn't allow for that answer. “I simply had no choice. The strings are to blame. Can't you see them? They're everywhere. We are all puppets that they yank around, contorting us in terrible ways.”
As the crowd exploded into laughter and jeers, I tried my best to disappear, thinking about whether or not I'd ever felt my own strings. Had I been tempted in such a way? Sure, but never to such a degree that I couldn't resist. Nonetheless, I felt bad for her and ashamed for coming. But, what could I do? Nothing so far as I could see. And so, I hurried toward the exit, disgusted and wishing that I had never come, but two uniformed individuals wordlessly snatched me up before I could exit, escorting me back down past where my seat had been and straight to the stage.
