Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Ilena





"What are you doing, Ilena?" I asked the little girl lumping chunks of clay in a mound around her. It reached up to her waist.

She looked up, face streaked with dirt, and flashed a radiant smile, "I'm growing up," she pointed at her friend and continued, "Afon is making sure I am pretty." Paint was sloshed all over the place.

***

"Where are you going, Ilena?" I asked the little girl encased in painted clay. Only her face was visible.

She glanced at me, tilted her head and beamed saying, "I'm growing up." Her face was fair and her tangled locks framed her face. "Afon kept my treasure in a box, " she paused briefly and continued, "I have it with me. Afon will make sure my face looks pretty." 

Soon enough the cage was sealed. The boy I never saw worked silently as Ilena's beautiful visage blossomed on its surface.

That was the last I saw of her.


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Citybuoy will post the mechanics of the RTC later today. Stay tuned!






Logged by Spiral Prince on 00:16
On , ,

17 comments:

  1. LoFMay 1, 2012 at 2:01 AM

    for someone who has never encountered a nested doll, you sure were able to strike at the heart of some its most meaningful psychological significations.

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    1. Spiral PrinceMay 1, 2012 at 2:18 AM

      that has always been my take on them - burying the child in us. building a shell or a series of shells, never mind the gaps in between. i consider the gaps to be the emptiness we all feel, or the feeling of a lack, a void that needs to be filled to be sated. :)

      Delete
    2. LoFMay 1, 2012 at 2:59 AM

      something is needed to mediate between the inside and outside, and if there is any maladaption in the process, then there really is a problem.

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    3. LoFMay 1, 2012 at 3:10 PM

      that ought to have been maladaptation...

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    4. Spiral PrinceMay 2, 2012 at 9:19 AM

      cue: turmoil

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  2. AnonymousMay 1, 2012 at 11:00 AM

    This is superb Spiral Prince. I'll never look at them dolls the same way before. It's sad and it's sweet.

    -DB

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    1. Spiral PrinceMay 2, 2012 at 9:19 AM

      funny how we see the sweetness in the tragic things we face, DB no?

      Delete
  3. OrangeMay 2, 2012 at 2:13 PM

    This is very good. I realized that dolls can be so blinding, I always see how beautiful and amazing it is, but never did it came to me that there can be something tragic about it.

    I can't wait for you to write something about Barbie. It will be exciting.

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    1. Spiral PrinceMay 2, 2012 at 7:44 PM

      Yeah, dolls are powerful symbols of childhood. And as for that Barbie post? My goodness! Don't get me started on the funnehz I might pull off. =)

      Delete
  4. reiMay 2, 2012 at 2:39 PM

    Maybe we all are just children, only with fancier covers and thicker skins.

    Nice one Prince. Somehow it's creepy, you know, with the casket and all, but the imagery was commendable. And I love the name Ilena, reminds me of Barbie Fairytopia-yeah, I'm a Barbie fan.

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    1. Spiral PrinceMay 2, 2012 at 7:49 PM

      We're children in grown-up skins, hmmm? Hmmm?

      I wanted a Russian sounding name. It was either Ilena(a name I'm quite fond of) or some other name with the crispiness of Russian names which I shall use something.

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    2. reiMay 3, 2012 at 8:18 AM

      How does one have grown-up skin? Hmm.

      Made me think of naming my children Vlada and Vladimir. XD

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    3. Spiral PrinceMay 3, 2012 at 10:15 PM

      It was a figure of speech, hehe. :) I encountered it in a book somewhere sometime in the past.

      Delete
  5. citybuoyMay 8, 2012 at 3:00 PM

    I love how you could almost hear Ilena, slightly getting muffled by all the clay. And I hate how that makes me feel. Parang I want to save her pero I guess we've all been Matryoshka-d, with or without our knowledge.

    As for the doll itself, I guess I always saw it as escaping- the way you break a doll open and another one comes out. I never realized it works both ways. For something to escape, it first has to be caged.

    I'd love to see how this would translate to a full blown story. What conflicts would Ilena face? Will she remain reserved or will she challenge her fate?

    On a personal note, I'd also love to find out what inspired this post. Did you pull the little girl out of thin air or is there a part of you that you feel is constantly being boxed in for you to mature?

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  6. Spiral PrinceMay 8, 2012 at 9:18 PM

    I'm not sure how I'd lay her full tale out, Nyl. Not yet.

    I guess I do feel boxed in. As I always have. I talked to Drew(callousboy) last saturday night. We talked about the old days when we wrote very raw posts and how our recent ones have been very sanitized. Maybe, growing up means shedding your feathers? I don't know....

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    1. citybuoyMay 8, 2012 at 10:12 PM

      Oh crap. I know how that feels. Sometimes, when I feel uninspired I read old posts and wonder what happened in the course of a few years. How did we get so sanitized and what can we do to get our edge back? lolz

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    2. Spiral PrinceMay 8, 2012 at 11:06 PM

      According to him, maybe we've assimilated...that we've become - wait for it - normal!!! Que horror! It's such a challenge noh? To be able to write something raw without needing to skin ourselves.

      Delete

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