The Scar Of Deceit

It is a beautiful sunny Friday morning, the birds are singing, the flowers are blooming and the pure white clouds in the sky are billowing. It’s the day that a tiny baby girl is born into the world. A world of bright colours, heartfelt love and the warmth of her family.

She is special. She is much loved. She is beautiful. She is absolutely perfect — but for the one imperfection showing on her cheek. An imperfect mark in the shape of a half moon.

Where did this mark come from? What does it mean?

She has a beautiful childhood. She grows so fast, her parents watching in astonishment as she excels at everything she puts her mind too. She is a good girl, never causing her parents any angst. She has a wide circle of friends who love her and she never knows of any personal hardship.

All in all her life is perfect, except for that one imperfection showing on her cheek.

She tells no one but there are times that mark burns, usually around the midnight hour, waking her as she sleeps. While that mark on her cheek is hot to the touch, she realises she can see shadows moving around her but knows not what it all means.

Then things begin to change as she celebrates her sweet sixteenth birthday. She wakes to the morning, excited for her upcoming birthday party that night, and she springs from her bed to start her day. After dressing, a quick glance in the mirror and she freezes.

The mark on her cheek has changed. Where all her life her cheek has sported the shape of a half moon, now that shape has what looks like two tiny tear drops falling down from the moon. Those tear drops where not there yesterday, she’d have noticed for sure.

She is a little concerned but she refuses to allow it to spoil her day.!

A beautiful birthday was had, her presents everything she could have wished for, her party the very definition of fun and when she climbs into bed that night, she dozes off as soon as her head hits the pillow, totally worn out from her fantastic day.

Her night however, was anything but perfect. Her dreams were hauntingly dark, her sleep sporadic and she found herself waking several times throughout the night, tears pouring down her face, although she has no idea why.

Life since her sixteenth birthday has changed somewhat. Her days and nights a little darker, her happiness a little spoilt, her days a little harder to get through and again she has no idea why her life has begun to change.

She gets through each day as best she can, each day that little bit harder than the day before, until eventually it’s the eve of her eighteenth birthday.

As she climbs into bed that night, her feeling of melancholy heightened, she attempts to stay positive, overriding her dark thoughts with the plans of tomorrow. Plans that have been a long time coming, in celebration of her big day. Eighteen and finally an adult!

She awakens on her special day, for the first time in two years she slept peacefully and she lays there with her eyes closed, a beautiful smile on her face. She has yet to open her eyes to the world and unbeknown to her, that mark on her cheek has changed once again. Now it shines darkly in the shape of a demon’s face and the two tiny tear drops have multiplied as they cascade down to her chin.

As she lays there enjoying the time alone on her eighteenth birthday, she runs through the days plans and then launches herself out of bed, eyes wide open, to start the exciting day.

Only she realises once on her feet, that she is not standing in her bedroom. No she is standing, bare foot, on a dusty rock floor. The walls near her are glowing red with a savage warmth radiating from them. There is a large door in front of her, she races to it and attempts to open it, only to realise she is locked in.

She begins to panic with no idea where she is or how she got there.

She tries the door again and then begins screaming in terror.

This is a far cry from the eighteenth birthday she had been dreaming of all her life.

As she continues to scream, while frantically trying to find a way out, she hears the door unlock and watches as it begins to open. This silences her and she waits in trepidation as the door opens excruciatingly slowly.

There standing on the threshold is the most hideous thing she has ever seen. It looks part man, part demon and part abomination.

As she stands in front of this creature, speechless, hoping she is dreaming, she hears it speak, “good morning my love, I have awaited this day for eighteen long years. Today you will become my wife, as was promised to me when the mark of deceit was carved into your cheek, at the moment of birth. That, my dear girl, is my mark that stains your cheek and on this day, of your eighteenth birthday, you have been summoned to the underworld to take up the mantle as my wife.”

She still cannot find her words, hoping and praying that she is dreaming, however, when she realises she is not, she falls away into a dead feint, as her perfect life is replaced with her horrid destiny!

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Originally posted on Medium