For Whom the Bell Tolls
not for thee - but for me

By Victoria (Tori Sparks) Sylvestre

The knob turns.
Paper balls fly.
I sit in grayscale,
head in hands,
surrounded by chaos and
spinning time.

I am the teacher.
The one with the glitter and the grit.
The sequins and the soul.
But at that moment
I was unraveling.

Then,
a bell.
Larger than life.
Rocking in a tower on six glowing screens.
It tolls - not for thee,
but for me.

And I run.

Coat flying,
feet pounding through the hallway.
This is not flight.
This is return.
I pour the coffee.
I open the app.
The music softens,
the colors bloom,
and the grayscale lifts.

Frame by frame,
I find myself again.

Back in the classroom,
my students greet me with joy.
There are fist bumps.
There is a hug.
There is me - present, restored.

And at the end
a cat.
Cuddly. Content.
His tiny face lit with peace
as I curl on the couch,
held by the world I rebuilt.

Fifty hours of creation.
One video.
All of me.

I have always modeled creativity =
in my voice,
my wardrobe,
my snacks,
my structure.

But this time =
I designed an experience.
And I was transformed, too.

The bell tolled.
Not for thee.
But for me.

And I ran toward it.