/v/ touch: to feel.
PREMISE: What happens to us when we are never touched? What messages does touch impart to us?
MAIN CHARACTERS:
Aria Jessie
EX
Published Date: December 5, 2011
This was an unusual story for me., and heartbreaking to write., but it fascinated me all the same. Very early on, I knew what the story's conclusion was, but I didn't know why. Then, one day, Jessie asked me what would happen if she was never touched. That led to the research and that's when I knew what the story had to be. It was painful to write, but it provokes a lot of very interesting and worthy questions that deserve dialogu.e.
My name is Jessie. I am eight years old. I am never been touched. No pats on the head. No hand to hold to cross the street. No hug when she is sick. One day, I broke the nose of the boy who tried to hug me. Another, my eyes leaked water when I watched a mother hold her little girl. I was here too but nobody saw. My time is running out. Will you see? Are you ready?
What are the effects of touch? What messages do you think you'd receive if you were never touched? How do you walk the line between positive and harmful touch? How would your life be different if you were never touched?
What is the most important thing touch provides? What would be different about your life if you were never touched? How do you walk the line between positive touch and negative?
It is very late. It is dark outside, but I can't sleep. I keep thinking about the forget-me-nots. I am very worried about them. I shouldn't have picked them. If you pick petals from their stems, the flowers will die. I don't want my pretty flowers to die. But I put one in a glass of water and it just floated around. We learned in school that if you give flowers too much water, they will die. I don't know what to do to keep my pretty flowers alive. I am scared that it is going to wilt and die. I bite my thumbnaill and roll over. Maybe I can dig a hole in the dirt and plant them again. I wonder if they would grow a stem back if I did that. Somehow I don't think that will work. They are probably going to die. That makes me sad. Will they turn to an ugly brown color? I feel very bad. I just wanted something as pretty as they are.
