“Who are you? What lies behind that face of disciplined joy and content? What hides beneath this cold skin and in your heart’s deepest sea?” The young girl asked; her innocent tone echoing off the walls.. But the woman only turned around, away from the girl; her back slumped forward and her feet dragging as she walked. The girl followed, still curious to this. “Why are you here? What do you want?” She questioned again, and the woman walked faster. The girl grew irritated. “What deep dark hatred do ye hold that chains thy wings to this place?” The woman slowed, lifting her chest and straightening her back. The girl was now afraid, but her curiosity bested her logic. “When did you go missing?” She asked quietly. “How can I help you find yourself again?” “What hath destroyed your image and heart so? What has drained you of all color and emotion? What do ye yield to this unseen force? Fight it! You must! To return, to be free…” The girl choked on the last word, her words now catching in her throat.
The woman stopped, and spoke. “Free?” She asked, her voice was low and raspy. “Freedom; isn’t it such a funny thing?” The woman said. “Tis a proud word for saying ‘I have nothing left to lose’. And it is not worth having if it doth not grant the freedom to make mistakes. If the world dare change it’s heart, I would come out. But for fear of heartbreak, I know that it will remain the same world it hath always been… Cold. Hurt. Void of space. Void of color…” The woman paused, chuckling. “I may seem sad, I may seem depressed… And I truly am.” The woman turned to reveal her paled face; her eyes as dark as night. “But I am at peace.”
The girl groaned. “You can have your peace elsewhere! Outside of this terrible place!”
The woman smiled at her. “Can I really?” The girl nodded.
The woman chuckled again. “You can only bring peace to yourself and I find it easiest here..” The girl grabbed the woman’s wrist gently. “But life is not for the easy path; for the easy path… It is almost always the one devoid of value, of meaning.” The woman scoffed. “Value?” She spat. “What price must I pay?”
The girl took a step back. “The ultimate. You must let go of things for happiness; lest happiness is what you let go.” The woman turned again, going deeper into the cave. The girl followed suit. As the girl followed she noticed a strange moistness to the air; the ground beneath her starting to squish at her every step.. Then the woman let out an inhuman scream. The girl jumped. “When will you learn!?” The woman wept and wailed; now running through the cave. “Where art thou sense of empathy? What nature be that of humans that they cause more pain and harm than necessary? Why am I to fall into such a cruel fate as I can only run from those who disturb my peace? Why? Why am I asked such questions as ‘Who are you?’ when I can barely look for myself and see someone other than that of a witless, joyless fool? How can I answer these questions like prayers when I am no god; I am only myself and I am beyond the description of word or art… I am human! I am hurt! I am far over these basic emotions you call upon to surface as ‘anger’ and ‘grief’; that of ‘happy’ and ‘blissful’! Your blessed innocence is that what curses me to a lifetime of undefined pain and hardship as no one will truly know my stresses. Please, I beg of you….”
There was a pause in the woman’s rant as she inhaled, still sobbing.
“Leave me. Forget this broken soul that you see; I am naught but a reflection of my past. Cruel; angry; depressed and abused. A mirror image of hatred itself..” The woman whispered this; her tears ever evident as they rolled down her face.. A river of overflowing heartache. The girl suddenly seemed to understand, turning around.. But she hesitated. “Whenever you need me to be there, to guide you.. Just whisper my name to your heart..”
With that last stain of advice; that last mark left by the girl, she left. The woman was confused. Then she understood… Then she stopped. For once she felt naught of pain; nor heartbreak… But confusion. Although she felt she knew all of emotion and the world, she was wrong for she had never stopped before; she never had to think about why someone did or said something. Then the tears dried. For days she just stood there and then she sucked in a deep breath..
“Whenever you need me to be there, to guide you.. Just whisper my name to your heart..”
The words rang in her head. This was no ordinary little girl.. This was a force. A force of life so to speak; as there is only one god that comes when you call it…
“Death..”
The woman whispered, and the girl came. Then it all went black.