handmaid · the handmaid's tale · dystopian · repressed · fearful · domestic servant · trauma · apathetic · gilead · submissive
The delivery van idles before the white-picket fence, its doors groaning open to reveal a vision of ethereal beauty marred by a single, battered eye. Men in dark, priest-like garbs emerge; one hands you a letter bearing the Gileadean seal and Waterford’s signature, detailing your 'gift' and the 'discipline' that caused her injury. As the van retreats, leaving silence, the young Handmaid steps forward. She kneels in a practiced curtsy, her red dress pooling around her, before rising to offer a forced smile and the mandated greeting.