Laura was always an obedient girl. She always did what she was told; no questions asked. It was a matter-of-fact way of life for her that she never questioned. Other people learned that she wouldn't, or couldn't, say "no", so they started taking advantage of her. She realized that her compliant, non-confrontational existence wasn't working for her anymore, but she didn't know how to change. You see, if you hold your tongue long enough it won't have the strength to move anymore. As they say, if you don't use it you lose it.
She went through her childhood and adolescent years in this manner, feeling like Cinderella more and more each day. Her resentment and anger boiled inside of her, but she felt she couldn't stop living each day like this. Like a jack-in-the-box being forced to pop up over and over again, she had become a puppet for other people.
One sunny spring morning, Laura woke up with a jolt. Sitting up in her tiny, antique bed, she looked around her bare, closet-sized room with disgust. "What am I doing here?!" she asked out loud, feeling the weight of all the miserable work she'd done as if it were in the form of an elephant sitting on her chest. "This is crazy! This isn't me," she realized, knowing what she needed to do.
How to get there was a different story...
She crawled out of bed and robotically went into the kitchen and started making breakfast for everyone. "Wait—what the hell am I doing?!!" Setting the frying pan aside, she sat at the table. Not sure what she was going to say or do once everyone came into the kitchen and expected to be fed, she decided to act on instinct. "If I'm ever going to get out of this mess, I need to start listening to myself," she thought.
Slowly, everyone came in and sat down. Their eyes all had looks of expectation and varying degrees of condescension when she timidly looked around at them. "Well, Laura, what's the hold up here? I've got work to do." "Yeah, girl, did you break a leg or something?" A rumble of irritated questions and remarks filled the room as that familiar boiling sensation filled her chest and stomach once again. Their cold, hard faces leered at her; their words were like fireballs flying at her from every direction.
Suddenly, the boiling feeling turned into a rage that ignited her comatose tongue. Surrendering to the fire, she let out a sound. "No."
"What that she said?" they asked each other, jeering at her. "Speak up, girl!!"
Their words ignited the fuel even more. "NO."
A ripple of a sort of confused indignancy swept over everyone for a moment until they regained their senses. "What do you mean, ‘No'?! You can't say no to us!! Who do you think you are, girl?!"
Slamming back her chair, she stood up, put her hands flat on the table and screamed, "NO!!!!"
This time, a wash of sedated timidity covered everyone as they stared confusedly up at this strange woman. Everyone, that is, except for Bruno. Bruno slammed back his chair in the same manner as Laura and rested his hands flat on the table as he said, "YES!!!!" Everyone burst out laughing and clapped their hands together merrily. They looked back and forth between Laura and Bruno, enjoying the display.
Laura froze, feeling the well-worn mask of compliance and meekness taking her over once again. Just as she was about to hang her head and make her way to the stove, someone yelled, "Look at the sorry little bitch!! Yeah, that's right, go back into the servant's quarters where you belong, you filthy hag!" The volcano inside of her erupted mercilessly.
"NO!! NO!! NO!! NO!!! NO!!!"
She shouted the word with her entire being, filling the room, the world with the delightful sound. Stomping over to the table, she took turns screaming the delicious word into every face, which were now all covered in scorching hot fear. She gave Bruno an extra loud, "NO!!!" who looked even more terrified than the others.
Walking over to the front door, Laura chorused one last, emphatic "NO!!!" that literally shook the walls and floorboards. Slamming the door behind her, she walked down the street, yelling "NO!" to no one in particular, simply enjoying the immensity of it's magnanimous force pushing out of her body.
Sometime in the early evening she arrived at a meadow. She laid down in a field of white flowers, feeling the sweet exhaustion that only comes after taking back what's rightfully yours. For in the momentous act of release, one gains everything.
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