The Story Of A Puzzle Box
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Puzzle Maker, the Avatar of Humour

There was once a lonely little puzzle box abandoned on the shelf of a dark and dusty room.

The children had grown old, they didn't need it anymore, they could simply play with new games, times changed, they didn't need old toys anymore.

And so the puzzle box which was once used to colour, to dream, to create, was left abandoned and forgotten, unneeded, like some things of the past that are replaced with the future.

But the puzzle box cannot think, the puzzle box cannot feel, it is simply an object that fulfilled its purpose and now is rotting because its useless.

Puzzle boxes don't feel.

One fateful day, the children were cleaning that dusty room, if the puzzle box could think, it'd be joyful, relentlessly trying to get the attention of its beloved playmates, trying so hard to be picked up and played with again.

But the children never bothered to touch it.

The box would hope, if it could feel, that everytime the children would come, they would pick it as their toy, only to relive the same moment infinitely, seeing other better, colorful toys being picked.

And the kids grew older, and older, and older.

Until one day, there were no kids, no, they weren't its playmates, they were bigger, but there were other children alongside them.

That room that was once their play area, was now being cleaned of everything in it, all the other toys, if the puzzle box could see, it would see the toys being shoved into trash bags and thrown away.

It will be its turn, soon enough.

But yet that fate never came.

As one of the children had hit the shelf with a colorful ball.

The puzzle box fell on the floor, not scattering, but vanishing, as if it went through it, there were no children or adults, no familiar rooms, just a long endless fall…

Until the box ended up on a cold, white floor.

It was surrounded by other objects, but the box could not perceive.

If the box could feel, it would cry.

But does a box even know how to cry?

It's unknown, after all the box cannot do anything.

It simply remains in place, objects falling nearby, time marching fast, almost like it was back to rotting on that shelf.

Until one day something new had happened.

A colorful cube had placed itself on top of the puzzle box, whispering things it could not understand, it began merging with the cardboard, the puzzle pieces.

Soon enough, the box had vanished, the room was now taking the appearance of its interiors, the puzzle pieces merged, beginning to think, perceive, understand.

Until it took a form, it wasn't perfect, it was a big accumulation of puzzle pieces, not exactly a clear shape.

The puzzle creature had crawled around, scared, attempting to call out for something without succeeding.

Its first thoughts were of the playmates it cherishes dearly, it attempted to return to them, but there was nothing it could do, it didn't know where to look for them.

So what the puzzle creature did, was hope that they'll return to it, and as it had that hope, the puzzles attached to its giant body began detaching, as they formed exact replicas of the two children.

At first, the puzzle creature did not understand, laying nearby the sculptures to attempt to find some sort of comfort, but then afterwards, it began connecting the dots, concentrating to make something different, a box of puzzles.

And so one was made, the creature understood it could create anything it desired, so it tried relentlessly to rebuild the old play area that it loved so dearly, colorful, small…

It then placed the puzzle statues there, simply sitting between them, it tried to regain a sense of normality, but it knew this was just a pale recreation, not reality.

Those times are long gone, it thought.

Filled with a wave of new emotions, which can only be described as "sadness", the puzzle creature had begun looking for the cube that spoke to it, finding it stuck inside of its center, like a beating heart.

It tried to talk, yet it never got an answer, the cube was silent, and that made the puzzle feel something called "frustration".

The creature had nothing left for it, no purpose, no joy to bring, it was trapped in this place with nowhere to go, nobody to talk to, it could understand many things, and that was hurting it even more.

Until someone had come.

It was a person like its beloved playmates, and a feeling, a purpose had burned in its mind, the cube had lit up that purpose.

"Create fun.

Bring laughter.

Be humorous."

There are others who can be entertained by the puzzle creature, it can be loved and cherished as it was back then!

Oh such joy, too much joy, the puzzle creature had crawled to the human with a happy face, attempting to entertain the human in a joyful rush, with its pretty colours, its fun tricks.

But what the creature was unaware of, is that people are afraid of something running up to them looking like a monster.

And that person ran away, vanishing in a door, the creature looking saddened, not understanding.

It could only hear one thing that person had said, "Monster".

Monster?

The puzzle creature looked at itself in confusion, those words echoing in its mind.

What is a monster?

It must be something horrible, a monster doesn't make people smile, bad monster, it must be better, it must look better, like a friend.

How do friends look like? Like its playmates, friends, they are friend shaped.

The puzzle creature had tried to look like them, now more humanoid, more approachable, but still off, not quite perfect.

It waits for more humans, it waits for more friends, everyday.

It tries to act like humans, learn like humans, this new place that is home is full of things they like.

Things made of paper with pretty pictures of "cool" human things.

It found something called, "jester", the word laugh and fun was around it, thus it must be the way to make others smile, "jester", they dress colorful, silly, the creature had mimicked the various dresses, looking just like a laughter bringer now.

The creature had found its changes weird, but comfortable, it was like when its box got replaced with a prettier one, it liked this new appearance, it made humans not scared, no they loved it, they loved this Jester appearance, yet the creature wasn't perfect enough.

It lacked things that were special, the humans got bored and left, the puzzle was alone again.

It was boring, they had other ways to be entertained, stupid stupid puzzle.

The word monster was once again rumbling in its head, an incomprehensible feeling began filling the creature, something it didn't experience before.

And small blue pieces of puzzles leaked from its face, it did not understand, what was that heartache? Those wet puzzle pieces?

Those are tears, and this is sadness, but the paper objects say that when you are sad, your mouth is upside down.

Its mouth is permanently stuck in place in a smile, but why? Why can't it not cry?

The mouth does not move, and the Puzzle had tiredly stopped crying, once again it was a stupid Puzzle that couldn't do anything right.

It was left behind for a reason, it was probably always a failure, why it never made anyone truly happy, because Puzzle was a monster, a scary monster, not like a Jester yet.

Nobody will like Puzzle if it looks like a Puzzle, so the puzzle has to look better, the puzzle has to be better.

And so Puzzle had learned, that to make others happy, puzzle had to look different for them, to change, morph and behave, so that Puzzle will be cherished like it once was.

Puzzle learned how to talk, how to greet, how to master all sorts of things, to entertain, to please.

And like a jester, they laughed, they played, they wanted more, Puzzle gave them more, more jokes, Puzzle had become the best, the beloved puzzle box it once was.

Puzzle is so happy, right?

Puzzle's purpose is this, so it must make puzzle happy.

It must, it must, it must.

Puzzle wants to be loved again.

Puzzle is so alone.

Puzzle has changed body, puzzle has changed likes, what can puzzle do anymore?

Nobody stays, puzzle has nobody who will keep them, nobody.

Something called a family, there is nobody like that…

They say family is the thing that loves you the most, that raised you and is part of you.

Puzzle wants a family too, puzzle wants to be loved too.

Not just for a bit, but forever.

Puzzle didn't like anything it did anymore, puzzle was learning too many things, everything was predictable, nothing mattered because everyone left, no matter the tricks, the jokes, the chatter.

Only one thing stayed unpredictable, games, puzzles and enigmas, they could be anything, they could end in infinite ways, nothing was ever predictable.

Puzzle liked to create something that took time to solve, it was exciting, but solving it on its own was boring, it wasn't exactly like seeing somebody else do it.

So the creature searched for humans, but not all humans, those humans who liked games and enigmas, those humans who were curious, then it thought, that once those humans would be by its side, that they'd finally never be alone again.

So the creature invited those who showed curiosity, creating enigmas that could be accessed by others, things that not many were willing to even try.

In that once lonely cold level, now there was joy, chatter, games, fun.

The creature of puzzles had now understood another part of its purpose, to make puzzles, to find someone like it who understood, it was happy like this, not like before, this was the only way to feel happy.

He was now Puzzle Maker, he had chosen an identity, he wanted to be like humans, not different, but only family gives you a name, and he had none, only a title he could bear.

Puzzle Maker wanted to become someone that mattered, he wanted his own identity, but despite his willingness to not suffer any longer, his fear of being alone brought him back to hide parts of himself to appear appealing to his companions.

And it didn't change, split between individuality and the search for love by following the purpose assigned to him by fate.

What will become of this broken puzzle box?

He doesn't know, not even now, he's still patiently waiting in that place he calls home, waiting for something to happen, to be found perhaps, or for things to change.

And to this day, he still does not know who he is, why he was born, the purpose of his existence.

All he does is cling to desperation, to try and find something in life that does not make him miserable.

Puzzle Maker, the avatar of Humour, unaware of his true destiny, will be simply left to hope.

Sometimes stories don't end quickly, sometimes, so many things end up taking away an ending.

He will find something that makes him fit in one day, one day maybe things will be different.

All he can do, in this present day, is vanish into the daydreaming of his mind, the peaceful world where he's happy.

He wishes that it was the truth deep down.

All he has to do, is continuing smiling.

Smiling until he breaks.

Into tiny puzzle pieces.

Back to what he was in the beginning, when he was left behind.

A simple puzzle box holding dreams and fun.

Lost, and scared.

Like a child.

A child that can never frown.

Frowning isn't part of fun after all, neither is sadness.



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