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Against the coming obscurity of night
The lights of the restless city
Begin to illuminate the outline of the towering buildings
Against the hazy dusk of the horizon
A myriad of people crowd the streets
All connected, but they don't know
The stage is set
The scene begins

She wanders the streets aimlessly
Yet with a hidden purpose
Her dark eyes betraying determination
She's in the crowd, yet apart

Like a black raven in the midst of doves
She's watching, planning
But the people don't notice
They never do
Too caught up in their own lives
Obeying the will of Them
Nothing more than hapless minions

She clambers to the top of a skyscraper
Tall, like a spire of a lone building creating dark scars against the sky
She's not going to be obedient any longer

It's time for the truth to be shown

She reaches into her bag
Pulling out rumpled packs of words
Words that shaped the words
Words that destroyed and rebuilt our thinking
Words that made us dream, believe
Words that were to be eliminated when They took over

Her arms stretch to the skies
Releasing the words on the unknowing city
The wisps of paper are birds against the air
Then
One phrase, words read one after another
All being said in rapid succession by a million voices
The walls of compliance beginning to break
Torn down by every word uttered

She glances down from her perch above the city
Enthralled with her triumph
Not aware of the figure behind her
"How dare you" the figure whispers
A shadowed hand masks over her mouth
Silencing her surprise, her screams
As he thrusts her off the building

The impact of her body echoes through the streets
Bringing silence to the cacophony of voices
The people clutching the words stare
"This is your fate if you rebel, if you listen to this blasphemy!"
The words the figure shouts to the city pierces through the silence
Implanting themselves in the people's minds

Words are hurriedly thrown back down to the ground
The people scatter
Fear making them minions once again

The blood of the girl's body spreads along the street
Staining the tossed words crimson red
The livid red a remnant of lost hope
All that done
So much risked
Yet all for nothing
All inspiration pulled down and killed
Like a bird fallen from the sky
Struck down by its executioner
Left without care on the road
Broken
And left to die

And the scene ends.
Another dream
Another reverie
So relentlessly torn down
Will we dare to hope again?

Learn more about this author, Margaret West.
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