Today Is My Fifth Birthday
By Madilyn Lopez
• • •
I wrapped myself in a plastic toy box. Loose plastic dripped from the ends of my fingers and it felt like love and warmth, but the buzz was a lot like a shot nerve. The love that encased me made my knees buckle when I stood. You know, how they cave when you’ve been sitting on the floor criss-cross for too long? Like static, like that.
I wrapped myself in plastic. I wrapped myself in fabric. I wrapped myself in the glow of a 2003 Panasonic T.V.
I hugged my Barbies and I ripped their heads off and I talked to the ceiling until my little voice went sore. I went outside when I wasn’t allowed and I hugged the cat too tight and I never ever touched a hot stove. I drew on the walls and I lied a lot and I flipped through channels like it was my religion.
My toy box was biblical and I was reaching out as far as my tiny fingers could take me. I wrapped myself in plastic. I wrapped myself in fabric.
I had everything I needed.
And I wrapped myself in it.
• • •
Madilyn Lopez is a young writer, stage manager, and playwright from Southern California who drives her focus on writing in ways that break conventional standards and practices. She holds a love and passion for theater, comedy, but most importantly, all things writing and creating. You can find her works on her instagram page @vegetableaisle, as well as on New Play Exchange under “Madilyn Lopez”.
