The Regitat's head features an eyeless void which it aims to fill with spoken secrets extracted from those around it. This monster is a master at coaxing secrets out using its powerful and mysterious, empty gaze.
The Regitat often hides among collectibles, knick-knacks, and figurines and can sit so still that it is frequently mistaken for one. There it will sit in silence. Once someone enters the room, however, it will become a 'totem of truth' drawing out confessions from the trivial to the deeply, deeply personal.
The moment it locks on to someone, they will find themselves spilling secrets siphoned out of them by the Regitat's influence. It is unclear why the monster performs this act, but it seems to target those with auras of anxiety, fear and social unease so many think it is attempting to give them a conversational spark. The problem, I soon found, is to do so too well.
I made myself one of its subjects for my research. What began as innocent disclosures soon morphed into a flood of revelations as if I had no control over my tongue. While some were humorous, others were laced with embarrassment. The more I shared, the heavier the weight of burden I felt I was having on my conversation partners, and this unease prompted even more oversharing.
My friends made excuses and left. I banished the Regitat to the bathroom, where it could only stare at a mirror. But there, reflected side by side, I uncovered the Regitat's true gift. I felt compelled to speak my truths to myself. The more I did so the calmer I felt as if voicing these truths to myself gave me time to process, pause, reflect and discern which were good stories and which should be kept just for myself.
In that quiet exchange, I felt the Regitat had given me a gift to take time to be comfortable with myself and to guard my joy because not every thought or moment needs an audience. Sometimes silence is as golden as the Regitat's fur.
As this thought came to me, the Regitat let out a flick of its lengthening tongue and vanished. It's strange work done. I imagine it is now sitting on another shelf, guiding another soul towards self-reflection and boundary setting.
I still think of the lesson it taught me: before letting my tongue run free, I should pause and consider my truths. Embrace them all, make peace with them, but decide wisely what to share and what to cherish in silence, along with the moment of companionship.
While truth may be as blind as the Regitat, we do not need to blindly speak all our truths at once.