Phantom Limb

Written for the R.M. Stockton's Unofficial March "Madness" Prompt. Details below.

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If you had the courage to taste the mind of an unstable individual, you will find that it sits comfortably on the bitter side of flavor…

The masses wake up every day and follow routines that feed their illusion of stability. I never sleep, I’m too busy resurfacing in your lives, wondering why the scabs on your soul haven't dissipated. They serve as a reminder that time does not heal all wounds, it festers some, coaxing you ever so closely to that weakened state where true colors unleash torrential bouts of trauma. I think you unconsciously find happiness in suffering, which is the foundation of my existence.

I'm at your service, pushing thumbtacks deeper than they are designed to go. But I cannot take credit for actions caused by capricious temperaments, I merely suggest them. Your weakness is my calling card and I willfully oblige.

Inevitable consequences bore me. What I care about is driving you mad! Driving you to the point of negative expression. As quickly as I come, I leave you to deal with the aftermath of your own doing until I grab hold of you again, a welcoming reunion of sorts.

Gullible and easy to manipulate. This is how I describe your condition. It's a shame I need you to survive. If I could isolate and harness my power, striking at will, the world would transition to the darkest shade of hate.

Some of you make my job too easy. I like a challenge. I like to pester you, egging you on while waiting for the destructive avalanche to give way, rapidly blanketing everything around you as it runs its course.

It's the ones who avoid me at all costs that I haven't quite transfused my talents upon. Though your method of deterrence is not foolproof, it remains reinforced with something you call self-control. One day, this barricade will crumble, and I'll be waiting to assist you. I'm good at waiting...

If you haven’t yet figured out who I am, the mirror is a fine place to start. I am the mind's phantom limb. I am the hair-trigger to your internal anguish. I am unabated. I steer you into deception, revenge and uncensored reactions. I seek to ruin you. All it takes is one person to spread me to others, causing a lasting domino effect... I am infectious. I am the madness you call anger. Stay far away from me if you can.

Then again... I’m the only one who is willing to help you decide what to do with me.

Encore:

Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven, reimagined. Simmering Madness is demonstrated in this 1:00 clip. Perhaps inspired by the thought of slowly going deaf.