Broken

A Story by Alexa Coleman

This is an add-on to a portion of a tale.

Broken

Pluto is the king of the Underworld. The Underworld is a dark, gloomy, and humid place. The underworld is filled with heartbreaking memories and people that you never wanted to let go of. The underworld is a place for the sad and mentally lost. The underworld is a physical embodiment of everything depressing. This feeling rubbed off on Pluto at a young age. Pluto was alone. Pluto started to believe that it was better to be alone, nobody can hurt you when you're alone. Pluto just wanted to feel wanted. Pluto needed to be saved from his domain, Pluto just needed to feel loved. Pluto began looking for someone, he wanted to find a sunshine for his dark world. All of a sudden Pluto saw a girl, her name was Proserpina. Proserpina had long blonde hair that shined bright like the sun. She had deep blue eyes that reminded Pluto of the sea. It didn’t take Pluto long to become infatuated with Proserpina. Pluto abducted Proserpina one day while she was gathering flowers and took her to the Underworld with him.

When Proserpina arrived at the underworld the first words that came out of her mouth were “No water, no life. No blue, no green.” Sadness filled her soul. She didn’t want to be here. She wanted to be at home with her mom dancing in the fields as the sun glistened on their skin. But most of all she missed her mom's presence. Pluto just wanted to make Proserpina happy.

“What do you want? What will make you happy?” (Pluto)

“I want my mom.” (Proserpina)

“Why do you want your mom?” (Pluto)

“No matter how old I get, I will always want my mom when I don’t feel good.” (Proserpina)

Proserpina had a void in her heart, this was new to her. Pluto also had a void in his heart. But unlike Proserpina Pluto knows the void, and the void knows him well. Proserpina knew she was becoming consumed by the depression lurking in the Underworld. She knew she was really sad when she stopped loving the things she loved. Pluto gave Proserpina anything and everything he could. But it was never enough. All she wanted was to be back home with her mother.

Proserpina refused to eat at the Underworld. Proserpina hated what the underworld was doing to her. She became pale, her hair darkened, and her smile disappeared. Proserpina started to realize that looking in the mirror hurt more than the hunger pains. She believed that all her problems would disappear if she didn't eat. She thought that she would just disappear. She became anorexic and it hurt Pluto to watch this happen. Pluto knew that she needed help, but she wouldn’t even talk to him. She didn’t have the energy for small talk and when she did talk to him it was short. She spent her days alone in the underworld, she embraced being alone. One night Proserpina was sitting alone on the balcony.

“May I join you?” (Pluto)

“Broken things like me are better left alone.” (Proserpina)

Pluto knew that none of what she was experiencing and feeling was good for her. So, Pluto took Proserpina back home to her mother. It took Pluto a minute to have a crush on Proserpina, an hour to like Proserpina, and a day to fall in love with Proserpina. But now it will take him a lifetime to forget her. Proserpina never loved Pluto. She felt nothing for Pluto, she pitted Pluto. Pluto had mistaken pity for love.

Pluto returned back to the Underworld after giving Proserpina back to her mother. He continued to watch over her. He always hoped she would mention him. But she never even said his name, not once. Proserpina went back to living a happy and healthy life. But Pluto's life only got worse. His depression began to slowly engulf him, his depression was a slow poison. He wanted to stop feeling, he wanted to forget everything but most of all he wanted to forget Proserpina. One of Pluto’s subjects could tell he was hurting.

“Are you okay?” (Pluto’s subject)

“I'm fine.” (Pluto)

But Pluto wasn’t fine. His mental breakdowns became more frequent. He sat down in a dark corner one night and started to cry. He didn’t know why he was crying. He didn’t know if he was crying because he missed Proserpina or if he was crying because Proserpina didn’t miss him.

Pluto wanted an end to his misery. “Can a heart still break once it's stopped beating?” Pluto asked himself. All of a sudden all the painful memories he's ever experienced replayed in his head. It was like he was experiencing everything all over again. He was being broken a second time. His heartstrings began to break from all the deep emotional trauma. His heart began to lose its form, his heart was unable to pump blood effectively. He died. Pluto died from a broken heart. When Pluto’s heart broke his mind went blank, because if you can't experience anything then you can't feel. His heaven was a world without feeling.