Names Long Buried - A Short Narrative

Instructions

I wrote this with a writing prompt that was like "write about a name no one calls you anymore" and I kinda turned it into a fiction story instead of something based on me (no, my name is not Magnolia ToT) but it actually turned out pretty good! Enjoy :) —————————————————— Draft: 2 Writing time: 45 min. Tone: Melancholic, nostalgic Inspiration: Writing prompt .......................................................... What does it mean to be one's own self? We wear faces, so many faces, that when we look in the mirror, we don't recognize the eyes staring back at us. I've worn many faces. I've lived many lives. None have been my own, not completely. Each was carved into my soul by a different pair of hands while my own were tied behind my back. We are defined by other's definitions of us. Once, they called me Lady. As Lady, I was small hands and scraped knees, the click of a nightlight and the hum of a lullaby. The world was to be marveled at with my wide eyes. "You're going to go so far." They told me. "Keep going." And I believed them because why wouldn't I? They had never led me astray before. And so I did because I could because they believed in me. They cared. The world was bright and vibrant and everything was new and beautiful. And I could look up and there would be a pair of sparkling blue eyes, staring down at me in amusement and I knew she cared most of all. And I trusted her because she told me she loved me. She told me she would never leave. "Always and forever, Lady," She would tell me. "I'll be here always and forever." But I was not Lady forever. I became Maggy, and Maggy was much heavier to carry. Lady was light and laughter. Wonder and trust. Maggy was different. Maggy was the pressure of newfound expectation, the weight of a name that felt too large but too small at the same time. She was clenched fists in my lap and back straight at the dinner table. Swallowing words and waiting my turn, even when everyone else cut the line. Maggy was what they wanted me to be— what they needed me to be. And so I was. Suddenly, I could hear the silence— how it spoke so much louder than the laughter that had once filled it. I knew the way people were like promises— good at disappearing when you need them most. Because I had found my wings and I had soared. Higher and higher, up to the bright blue sky, where I felt free. But they shot me down, the ones who had told me to keep going, to go further. And they stood by and watched as I tumbled down down down And they just shook their heads and said, “Oh well.” They did not look at me with bright hope anymore. “It’s too late for her.” The world was still bright, yes, it was still vibrant. But now it was blinding. And when I looked up, those sparkling blue eyes had dulled. Maggy didn’t believe in forever and always. Lady had believed in fairytales. Maggy knew better. But Maggy didn’t last either. Her eyes were opening, this time with no rose-tinted glass. Maggy, the one who realized how temporary the beauty in life is, began to fade. Because now I am Magnolia. And Magnolia knows that beauty is a fading mirage— a weak attempt at hiding the cruel reality of life. Magnolia does not run to the horizon with wide eyes. She does not chase fairytales, nor does she wait for them to find her. Magnolia is not a dreamer. Magnolia is awake. And now I know the truth. I know that people wear names like costumes, stitched together by the people who think they know you, the ones who are trying to transform you. But they can be stripped away like loose thread. I know that promises are not made of stone and are never really meant to help you. Magnolia doesn’t believe in forever and always, because those blue eyes have long since turned away. She does not wait for words that were never meant to be kept. Magnolia stands where Lady used to dance, where Maggy used to sit. Magnolia remembers being shot out of the sky. She remembers tumbling down as they stood by and watched. So, Magnolia does not listen. Magnolia speaks. And if the world does not want to hear her? The world will learn. Lady had wanted to live. Maggy wanted to survive. Magnolia wants to matter.