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A boy’s subconscious comes to life, giving voice to inner perspectives after witnessing a traumatic event others ignored. Based loosely on IFS parts theory, the boy & his ‘Inner Council’ must cope with unacknowledged trauma.
A storm raged in the boy’s mind. Weeks had passed since the “event.” Unspeakable b/c his vocabulary lacked the words, his mind couldn’t escape its incessant replay. Time was both slow & fast, splintering into pieces that couldn’t be refitted. He wished people could see the story through his eyes. Words were useless.
The world moved on. Grownups muttered, “These things happen. It’s over now.” Other kids shrugged it off, their laughter a reminder of normalcy’s absence. He waited for someone to see the story in his eyes. Nada.
He retreated inward, to a council of voices gathered to resolve the matter.
Screamer, raw & primal, spoke first. "This isn’t fair!" she cried. "How can they pretend it didn’t happen? We should rage until they see what we saw!"
Her words sparked defiance that was doused as Protector stepped in. Calm & deliberate, his job was to keep the boy safe. "If we scream," he said, "they’ll just say we’re broken. Or shame us. We don’t need to give them more reasons to push us away."
Screamer faltered. He wasn’t wrong.
Watcher emerged—cold, clinical, detached. "They didn’t feel it b/c they weren’t paying attention. You were the only one who grasped what happened.” The boy wanted to believe this—maybe it meant he was special. Watcher continued, "But, NOBODY will get it. You’ll sound stupid & they’ll just find another flaw in you.”
Pleaser, timid & conflict-averse, whispered, "Maybe if we pretend it didn’t happen, we can be almost normal. If we bury it, maybe we’ll stop feeling so…" She couldn’t finish, but they all knew the word she avoided—broken.
Suddenly, from the storm’s center, Numb One spoke. "STOP," he said. "We can’t carry this anymore. It’s too heavy.” They audibly sighed. Numb One was right.
"We’ll bury it," Numb One said. "And never speak of it again. If we don’t, this’ll destroy us. What matters is survival."
The decision made, Screamer fled to deeper recesses. Protector stood guard. Watcher scanned the world for threats. Pleaser weakly smiled, hoping to be lovable. Numb One chained the struggling memory & buried it in unreachable depths.
On the surface, the boy seemed fine. Nobody noticed part of him was gone as he mimicked laughter & interactions. Inside, he felt the weight of the grave, where truth was buried.
He heard Screamer cry, "This isn’t fair," & he demaned she be silenced. He couldn’t tell if the quiet was relief or curse, so he filled himself with emptiness & stared blankly.
