The Story About the Key/The Start of Doe

Doe's eyes were large and full, bulging bellies of emotion.  She had a hard time expressing these emotions out loud, so she let them live in her eyes.  Things used to be easier for Doe, but then she met a man who took more than he gave and when he left for good he took part of Doe's voice with him.  After he left, Doe locked herself up with her half-voice and waited.  She didn't know she was waiting at the time, she thought she was just staying safe.  Now, looking back, she was waiting for Shane.

For a while Doe became a spider.  With her easy laugh and intense affection, guys fell into Doe's web easily.  She didn't do it on purpose, she just thought that one might have the key to unlocking her.  But none of them did.  She'd walk with her spindly legs through the abandoned webs she'd made, going over what went wrong in each.  But it seemed to be more than that.  Nothing went wrong, but nothing went right.  She wanted the right one, the key, to unlock the spill of her voice, but no one seemed to fit.

Then Doe met Shane.  Shane liked all the things that Doe liked, like space and music and ice cream.  He called Doe a Princess and showed her sweetness that she didn't even remember existed after the first greedy man.  He held her like glass, like spun sugar, like something so precious you use your whole body to guard it against the outside.  But Shane was not the key.  That's what he gave to Doe.  He held her face in his hands and told her "You're the key.  You're anything and everything you want to be."

Emotions started flowing more easily for Doe.  She held her head higher, squared her shoulders more.  Art flowed from her hands in waves and left her mind at ease in its wake.  Her voice would still disappear from time to time, and Shane would hold Doe's hands and say "Talk to me.  It's okay." Doe would then unlock herself, with the key she'd always had, and out the words would come- sighing with relief to finally be in the sunlight.