CONSOLE TONSIL iii
Plankton's eye fluttered open just enough to see Karen beside him. He felt groggy and disoriented, the events of the day a distant, hazy memory. He then notices Hanna brimming with tears.
He blinked slowly, trying to clear the fog. "Karen," he croaked, his voice hoarse from surgery and emotional turmoil. "Hanna?"
"I'm so sorry," Hanna choked out with regret.
"I didn't mean to...I didn't know."
"What happened?" he rasped.
Karen's gaze softens. "You had a bit of a shutdown, Plankton," she said gently. "You've had a long day, and everything just became too much."
The word 'burden' echoed in Plankton's mind.
"Burden?" he managed to croak.
"Hanna said something she didn't mean," she began,. "She didn't understand what she was saying, but she hurt you, and she's sorry."
The word 'burden' it seemed, that fear had been given a voice.
He looked from Karen to Hanna. "Burden," he said, barely a whisper. "Is that what you think of me?"
Hanna looked stricken. "No, Plankton, I just..." Her voice trailed off. He had always known that he was different, that his size and his quirks set him apart from others.
"It's ok," Karen said, her voice soothing. "We all have moments where we say things without thinking. But what's important is that you know you're not a burden to me, Plankton. You never have been, and never will be."
Plankton's word 'burden' ringing.
"Hanna didn't mean it, she just didn't understand."
But the word had already taken root in Plankton's mind.
Burden.
The word resonated through Plankton but to be called a burden was something else entirely.
"Plankton, I'm sorry," she said again, "I didn't know."
But Plankton could only repeat the word. "Burden," he croaked.
Karen reached out, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "No, Plankton, you're not a burden," she said, her voice steady and firm. "You're loved and valued, just the way you are."
"Burden," he murmured agai. "I'm a burden."
"Plankton," Karen said, her voice a gentle reprimand. "You are not a burden."
But Plankton's eye remained fixed, voice a hollow echo. "Everything I do is a burden," he murmured.
Karen squeezed his shoulder. "Plankton, please, don't say that."
"Burden," Plankton whispered, voice barely a breath.
Karen's heart broke at the sound of his self-loathing. "Plankton, you're not a burden," she insisted, her voice filled with compassion. "Am a burden," he repeated, the word sticking to his tongue like a sour candy.
"What can I do?" Hanna asked, desperation seeping.
"Listen," Karen said, turning to face her. "You need to understand that Plankton isn't just being dramatic. This isn't something you can just apologize for and expect him to get over. His brain works differently. He processes stress in a way that's unique to him. And when you said that..." Her voice trailed off, unable to find the right words to express the gravity of the situation.
"I'm a burden," Plankton murmured.
"You're not a burden, Plankton," she said, her voice a soft, steady rhythm. "You're my friend, and I care about you."
"Burden," Plankton said, his voice a quiet rebuttal.
He was stuck in a loop of pain and she wasn't sure how to pull him out. "Plankton, you're not," she began, but he cut her off.
"Burden," Plankton murmured, his voice a sad refrain.
"Plankton," Karen said, her voice a gentle plea. "You're not a burden."
"Burden," Plankton replied, his voice a soft echo of despair, "is a burden."
Karen tries to find the right words to cut through the fog of his pain. "Plankton," she said firmly, "you are not a burden. You're my husband, and my confidant."
"But a burden," Plankton whispered, voice trembling. "I am burden."
"Plankton, please," she said. "You're not a burden."
"Burden," Plankton said, his voice a stubborn echo. "Everything I do is a burden."
"No, Plankton," Karen insisted, her tone firm but filled with care. "You're not a burden. You're an essential part of this home."
But the word 'burden' a heavy weight on his soul. "I'm not a burden," he murmured, the words barely a breath. "I'm not."
"Right, you are not," Karen said. "You're so much more.."
"Burden," his voice a quiet protest. "I'm just a burden."
"You're not a burden," she said. "You're a companion, and a vital part of our lives."
"But, burden," Plankton whimpered, his voice a sad refrain. "I is burden."
Karen took his hand. "You are not," she said, her voice a gentle but firm declaration. "You're a unique and wonderful being, Plankton."
"Plankton, burden," Plankton repeated, his voice a whisper of doubt. "I, burden."
"Plankton," she said. "You are not a burden. You're a brilliant mind, and family."
Plankton's word 'burden' still clinging to the edges of his consciousness. "But, Karen," he whispered, "I am burden."
"No," Karen said firmly, voice unyielding. "You are not. You are treasure, a light in this world."
Plankton blinked slowly, the word 'burden' echoing in his mind like a mournful chant. "But I burden," he protested, his voice barely above a whisper. "Burdens, Plankton."
"You are loved."
"Karen," Plankton said, his voice shaking with emotion, "I burden."
Karen leaned closer. "Plankton," she said softly, "you're not a burden. You're someone who brings joy and laughter into our lives."
Plankton's gaze searched hers, the word 'burden' still clinging to his every thought. "But I burden," he murmured, his voice a sad echo.
"You're a part of this home, a piece of our lives."
But Plankton's mind was a tumultuous sea, the word 'burden' a stormy island he couldn't escape. "Burden," he said again, his voice a sad admission.
Karen's looking for a way to bridge the gap between his pain and the truth. "Plankton," she said, her voice a gentle reminder, "you're not a burden."
"Burden," Plankton whispered, the word a sad acceptance in his mind. "I burden."
"Plankton," she began, but he talked over her.
"Burden," Plankton said, his voice a sad refrain. "Everything I do, burden."
"Plankton," she said, her voice a gentle but firm counterpoint.
"Burden," Plankton murmured, his voice a quiet echo of despair. "Everything I do, a burden."
Karen felt the urgency to reach him, to pull him out of the dark pit of his thoughts. "Plankton, you're not a burden."
Plankton's eye remained unfocused, his voice a sad refrain. "Burden," he whispered, the word a painful acceptance. "Everything I do, I burden."
"You're not a burden."
"But, Karen," Plankton murmured, his voice a sad refrain, "everything I do is burden."
Karen's looking for any sign of the vibrant spirit she knew was there.
But Plankton's gaze remained vacant, the word 'burden' echoing in his mind like a funeral bell. Karen knew she had to do something, had to find a way to break through the barrier that had been so carelessly built. She took a deep breath, reaching for the one thing she knew could always lift his spirits.
"Remember the time we built that sandcastle?" she asked, her voice filled with the warmth of nostalgia. "The one with the moat that kept filling up with jellyfish?"
Plankton's eye flickered with the ghost of a smile. "Jellyfish," a soft echo of a happier time.
"Yes," Karen said, her voice a gentle nudge. "Remember how we laughed when they kept popping the bubbles in the moat?"
A flicker of life returned to Plankton's eye. "Burden, Bubbles," he murmured.
Karen clung to the glimmer of hope. "And the karaoke nights? When you sang that sea shanty about the Krabby Patty?"
"Krabby Patty," the words a soft echo of happier times.
Karen's seeing the first crack in the wall of pain he had built around himself. She took his hand, voice filled with warmth. "Remember pranks we’d play on SpongeBob?"
Plankton's gaze flickered with a glimmer of amusement. "Jellyfish," he murmured.
Encouraged, Karen pressed on. "And the time we accidentally turned the restaurant into a bubble bath?"
"Bubble bath," he murmured, his voice a soft echo of the laughter they had shared.
"Yes," Karen said, her voice a gentle caress. "Remember how Mr. Krabs had to wear those ridiculous floaties because he couldn't swim in the bubbles?"
Plankton's smile grew. "Floaties," he murmured, a hint of laughter in his voice.
Karen squeezed his hand. "See, Plankton. You're not a burden. You're a partner in crime, and the best roommate I could ask for."
The room remained still, the only sound the steady beat of Plankton's heart. Then, ever so slowly, his smile grew, pushing back the shadows in his mind. "Karen," he murmured, his voice a soft echo of gratitude. "Thank you."
Hanna's pixel eyes widened with hope, the guilt still etched on her face. "Plankton," she said, her voice tentative. "I'm so sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it. You're not a burden. You're...you're like family to us."
Plankton's gaze shifted to her, the weight of her words a gentle nudge towards healing. "Family," he murmured, the word a tentative bridge over the chasm of his doubt.
"Yes," Hanna said, her voice earnest. "I'm sorry for not understanding before. But I do now. And I'll do better."
"You will?" he asked, a tentative thread of hope.
"Yes," Hanna said with earnestness. "I'll learn, listen, and I'll be more considerate of how my words can affect."
Karen nodded in approval, her grip on Plankton's hand tightening slightly. "That's all we can ask," she said, her tone a gentle reprimand. "For you to understand and do better."
Hanna's pixel eyes well up with tears. "I'm so sorry, Plankton," she said, voice shaking. "I had no idea."
Plankton's gaze softened, the word 'burden' slowly losing grip.
Karen released a sigh of relief, tension in the room easing. "What's important," she said, her voice a gentle guide, "is that we all understand each other better now."
Hanna nodded with remorse. "I'll do anything to make it right," she said, a solemn vow.
Plankton looked from Karen to Hanna, the word 'burden' losing power. "Ok," he murmured. "I forgive."