Puppet!

Description

Mo’s definitely not living her best life. One night she awakes to find her bedroom on fire. From the smoke, a Puppet emerges. Puppet’s there to give Mo a mission – to save humankind, preaching messages of love/hope/positivity. Mo's flatmate interrupts the conversation/apparition/dream. A series of 'signs' persuades Mo to follow Puppet's commands. Two years later: Mo’s a self-care guru. During an appearance, she spots Puppet in the crowd. There are more sightings. Is she losing it? On a visit to the care-home she grew up in, Mo enters the playroom to see Puppet, operated by a young girl. She remembers playing with Puppet as a child. Her world caves in. Her mantra’s been "what would Puppet do?" but if Puppet was a projection of her own subconscious... Mo falls into depression. One day she sees the care-home girl. She tells Mo she’s been her inspiration. Mo’s uplifted. She visits the care-home, to leave the girl a gift. There’s no child of that description. So who or what has she been seeing? Then, a realisation. Whatever the truth, she has the power to help people... Back in her room, the wardrobe door’s ajar, and it’s wedged…on Puppet.

Biblical Connection

In Exodus 3, God appears to Moses in a flaming bush, charging him with delivering the Israelites out of Egypt. In Mo’s case, it’s a fire in the corner of her bedroom (damn those joss sticks), but the principal is the same. Like Moses, Mo (see what we did there?) was brought up estranged from her family (in a care-home rather than in the Pharaoh's palace), and receives a visitation she never expected. The themes of imposter syndrome, purpose, self-worth and sheer blind faith (to a positive end in this instance) are explored in the way that Mo, like Moses, chooses the path of credulity, and “accepts” her calling. Her ultimate revelation is that, whether or not her Puppet apparition was “real”, what really matters is that she has made a positive difference in the world. This speaks to our greater human (or indeed Christian) experience. In summary: just be a decent person, whatever your reasons for doing so.