Alice always put her art above everything else, and her latest endeavor was to become a living puppet. She wasn't sure what message she desired to send with her display. But then, wasn't the message in the eye of the beholder? She made arrangements to be displayed at an art show, making only the barest of agreements with Gregory, the gallery owner. Then, one fateful May day, she stepped into her box with three rules: that she would do as she was told, that she would obey the pull of her strings, and that she would not speak. Oh, and that she wouldn't leave her display case, but that went without saying, as the lock was on the outside and inaccessible to her. While she was a hit at the exhibition, she drew the ire of Gregory, who merely tolerated the display. He didn't think she was true art, but merely putting herself up as an exhibition. It was pandering, and her lack of a message hid a lack of thought. When the time came for the exhibit to end, for the display case to be opened, and Alice to be let out, he wanted her to admit that what she was doing wasn't really art. But Alice was not some first year art student and wouldn't be bullied. This was her passion, her purpose. So he kept her locked inside through the night. And then the next, and the next, until she agreed with him. But Alice remained committed to her art, even if it meant days of being on display, of obeying the people on the other side of the glass, of allowing herself to be pulled by strings. That remained the case even when Gregory, sick of Alice taking up space in his gallery, sold her to a mall for display. Then, once the display was no longer needed, she was shipped to a toy store. After a few months there, she wound up in a curio shop. With each transaction, her value lessened. No one even knew she was an artist. But she continued to be admired and played with. For Alice, that was enough. Maybe one day she would be let out of her display box, and she would become a real girl again. But until then, she would remain a living puppet and living art.