STATU[E]S

I. THE GRAND OPENING

STATU[E]S

By JimLodge

I. THE GRAND OPENING

The mannequins arrived at the soon-to-open Homo Natura Department Store – cling-wrapped, bubble-wrapped, and boxed. Some of them came as wholes while some came in disassembled parts. They were handled by the delivery men across the polished tiles towards the storage room, and were placed amidst the racks and boxes filled with all kinds of garments. The warehousemen came and went, stocks were brought in and taken out, the lights turned on and off, until such time when the already-closed store approached closing time. The employees left and the night came, turning the place into a pitch-dark and deathly-quiet sanctuary.

The mannequins stirred to life, animated by an unseen force – the same force that granted them their borrowed lives. Still encased in their box and plastic prisons, the mannequins sniffed the stuffy air inside the cavernous yet not spacious storage room. The strong smell of virgin fabric assaulted their non-existent nasal glands, casually informing them of their whereabouts. The mannequins smiled to themselves, knowing that they have found a new home – a new home that they knew they would learn to love. Alive, awake, and fully aware, the mannequins silently waited for the sun to rise and for them to fall back into their empty sleep.

After a few more days of patient waiting, the mannequins were finally freed from their factory-issued bounds. In their sleep, the warehousemen hustled into their perpetually cold home and snatched the ones whose bodies were complete. These mannequins were then placed among the display racks all around the main areas of the store. Artfully posed and clothed, the mannequins transformed from mere statues to models. They were all set for The Grand Opening in the next morning.

The night visited them once more. When they woke up from their whole day's sleep, the whole-bodied ones found themselves clad in pretty and stylish clothes. Delighted by their appearance, the male and the female mannequins gathered by the empty central area of the store. They turned on the lights and then gaily danced and pranced all through the night in absent tunes and rhythms that only they could hear. This dismayed the unassembled mannequins, for they sensed that the whole ones were having fun while they were still stuck in their miserable casings. They heard them talking, cheering, and laughing as the sound from the central area seeped through the cracks between the doors and vents of the storage room. Uttering not a single word, the unassembled ones suffered the night, envying the others and pitying themselves.

The Whole Ones, with their newfound sense of purpose, obligingly positioned themselves back to their respective spots as they waited for the sun's rays to shine over the façade of the store's main

area – the part of the store that was their new home.

Days went by and the newly-opened Homo Natura flourished. The mannequins – the stars of the store – prided themselves of their duty and their ever-changing clothes. They were more than contented: they were regularly cleaned and regularly dressed, and the room was immaculately clean and cool.

There was nothing else that they could ask for.

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