Soul-less Windows

This piece was created by my youngest daughter a few years ago. Wynter has been creating art, ever since she could hold a crayon. She has recently graduated from Herron School of Art, in Indianapolis and is preparing to move to NY for grad school. Everyday I am amazed at her skill and passion for expression. Using her pieces to create a story brings me unbelievable joy. Thank you for your time, in reading my work, but more for supporting a young, incredibly talented artist.

*

"Tell me what you see," she asked them, a hint of giddiness in her voice, as they lay, tied up on the floor.

"Your mouths gape, and your hearts pound, but your eyes hold a secret I can’t read. Tell me, she seethed, every single one of her eyes, scanning their faces, searching for an answer.

But they remained speechless, scared silent. Their faces were covered with the tears of fear and despair. She would have to be satisfied with that.

She snapped her fingers to summon the beast, releasing it to feed on the essence of her own frustration and disappointment. A single cough broke the silence and caught her attention. She spun around quickly to get a glimpse of where and who, it came from.

A small boy, soiled and reeking of his own extraction, sat trembling uncontrollably. She smiled, her nose twitching as she whispered, breathing her hot breath into his tiny ear. “Hello, boy.” She said, breathlessly.

His mother threw her arms up in an effort to protect him, and she was savagely devoured by the beast. The boy, terrified, cried out, “No, momma,” causing the creature to grin softly with delight.

"That kind of fear tastes the best," she taunted. "It’s hot and almost hateful," she cackled, running her fingers across his forehead, licking the sweat off of her fingers, like icing on a cake, her lips quivering in anticipation.

The beast whimpered and whined for more. "Ungrateful," she barked, sending it cowering back into the shadows.

Dancing around the small boy, in a trance, she began to separate him from the others in the group. The boy curled up into a fetal position and trembled in fear. A man from the group, begged for the creature to spare the boy, and take him, in his place.

She stopped for a moment and considered it. She said in a pensive tone, "I may have some use for you, but you do not have the power of this boy. His fear will fortify me for years. I will accept your offer and keep you around, to be my source in replenishing my kind.

She waved her hands, and her underlings carried him away.

One by one, she used each person in the group, for her wicked desires. Making the boy watch, building such a deep fear, that the room radiated in it. This went on for years.

New groups of people would be taken randomly, missing without a trace, to be tortured and fed on. She preyed on children, mostly. This began to infuriate the boy, who had been mercilessly abused for its survival.

As she approached the boy, who was no longer small, to gather the essence of his fear, she noticed something was different. He was not afraid. She ran her fingers across him as she had before, to get a reaction, but he remained motionless. Confused, she opened her eyes and began to scour every inch of him.

"What has happened to you?" She nudged and prodded him, still nothing. He waited for her to be face to face with him. For a brief moment, she felt a slight tinge of empathy for what she had done to this child. She wasn't sure how to feel, she had never experienced it before.

She moved closer, watching every inch of him. There was no sweat, or goosebumps, no trembling or terror. She sensed something, but she did not recognize it.

Her compassion for his plight, quickly diminished, and she once again, demanded to be fed.

Unexpectedly, a strength from nowhere, exploded from inside the boy and came pouring out if his mouth, like a volcano.

The boy snapped, his words cutting her flesh.

You are pitiful! A sad and pathetic waste of life. You will never understand or feel what we feel, love and loyalty mean nothing to you.

These things may follow you, but only out of duty. Nothing could love you; you are a soul-less, void of greed and an empty bag of skin.

The power of his tone and strength of his will, began to tear deeply into her skin. The more he spoke, the weaker she became. She snapped her fingers calling for the beast to save her, but he was only loyal to strength.

Recognizing his power, the boy demanded the beast to finish the creature off. For a moment, her eyes were really opened, and she saw her true wickedness.

The boy killed the beast and burned the dwelling to the ground. He made his way back to his village. But no-one there recognized him or believed his story.

Everyone he had ever known was gone. His eyes closed to the insults and ridicule the village people spewed at him.

As he sat in the darkness, completely alone, he began to feel a hatred he had never felt before. He felt himself beginning to change. Deep inside, he felt a connection, if not a bit of compassion for the creature.

That thought scared him.

He heard rustling in the trees behind him. His heart began to pound and his brow to sweat. When he heard a familiar voice call to him.....

"Hello, boy."