Colors In A Glass Body

By Au Wai Lam Amellia (aged 15) Maryknoll Convent School (Secondary Section)

When I open my eyes, I am floating in a sea of pitch black,

Terror grips my throat like a vice, strangling me.

I take a step forward, and lines come up from the empty space

To wrap themselves around my legs and ground to an invisible plane.

Looking down at my hands, I am but a clear shell, 

With multicoloured shapes bouncing off of one another in my body.

Woven threads stretch across my limbs, dripping off my palms into the void

As I walk aimlessly, hoping to find a source of light.

I bump into a wall, which I thought would not exist in this abyss, 

Yet it shatters the arm that hit it like glass, 

Causing the pieces of color to escape from my silhouette,

I try reaching for them, and manage to grasp a yellow one around my fingers, and-

The sound of the sea laps at my ears as a hand lays itself on my shoulder,

A familiar scent of perfume hits my nose as a woman sits next to me,

I see her talking, smiling so bright, yet I cannot hear a single word,

And when I blink, she is gone, and the small, golden sun disintegrates in my hand.

I am back in the dark again and a pink, shining circle catches my eye.

It is hovering near my foot, and when I tap it gently with my toe,

My head spins and my eyes close, as I feel wind whipping across my face,

I open my eyes tentatively, and I am greeted by a face I have not seen in a decade.

She is in the uniform that I outgrew years ago, hair still in a braid,

When she hugs me, I cannot feel her heat, but the way she holds me says it all.

I try to breathe her in, but she crumbles in my arms,

And I am in the ink again, the pink circle cracked and shattered.

There is only one shard left in the space, a blue, dull square,

It is a distance away, so I run towards it, letting the lines on my feet tie me down.

I reach it, and it slams into my chest, warm and cold at the same time,

A sense of peace fills my lungs, yet trepidation keeps my heart pounding.

This time, I am in a museum of sorts, a room with rows upon rows of statues.

Each one was different, some rough, some smooth; some laughing, some crying,

Yet, in each figure, there was always a unique, colorful shape embedded in it.

I wander for what seems like hours, reading the plaques on each piece.

The golden yellow sun was nestled in the breast of a woman, 

The label revealed that she was my mother, and memories flooded me.

The pink, shiny circle was on the cheek of a young girl,

The writings on the stand told me she was my best friend, and I remembered.

The ties beneath my feet seemed to tug me in a direction, and I obeyed.

I walked into a large chamber, with only one sculpture in the middle, 

As I gazed up at it, the dull, blue square was visible in one of its eyes.

When I read the words in front of it… I knew it was me.

I tried to touch it, but I was transported back into the abysm,

There were no more shapes left to hold except the ones in my body.

They glowed in me, pulsing with warmth, and the fear left my soul,

Like an embrace squeezing away my doubts and panic.

As the lines showed me to somewhere strange, somewhere new,

I followed, knowing my recollections would keep me company,

And the ties on my feet would guide and keep me steady,

Walking into the Uncharted.