Tales of Paper & Pen

My personal favorite of my pieces

My eyes rested upon the gloom of winter’s night, slowly moving across the empty snowscape. The innocent white of snow under the moonlight gleamed desperately, like a lost soul floundering about in search of redemption. The shadow of the clouds above were a merciless flame, spreading uncontrollably and devouring all that was bright, leaving behind a darkness so infinite, it was like an abyss that led straight to the pits of hell.

“This endless winter mourns…” a soft voice whispered.

I turned my head, shifting my gaze to the woman beside me. Her white hair writhed in the howling wind, whipping about aggressively. Her ominous silver eyes were directed straight ahead, and her pale lips were curled up at one end.

“…It mourns them.”

I averted my gaze, turning my head to hide my sneer. How could she speak of them with a smirk plastered on her face? It was as if she were purposely ignorant to the horrors of her own making, never bothering to look them in the eye as she continued to saunter.

“You can’t even mourn,” I muttered under my breath, confident my words escaped her ears. Though, when has there ever been a time confidence overruled causality?

I felt her gaze. It was empty… hollow. I returned the gesture, meeting those cold silver eyes of hers, wondering how far I could venture into them. They were reminiscent of a vast expanse of snow tormented by a fevered blizzard. I wandered that storm, losing my way quickly amidst the frosty haze. My surroundings were all the same no matter where I looked, and the pale glow of the veiled sun above served no purpose other than to taunt me. How long have I been trapped here? Where do I go from here? Why am I here? I was lost…

“I know I can’t…”

Snapped out of my stupor, my body shivered. I looked at her with newfound wariness, afraid to find myself lost once more. Though, I quickly composed myself, unwilling to succumb to the cold.

The woman gave me a knowing smile. It seemed she knew, yet she never spoke about it—not a word.

She continued softly, “…though I can still honor them in my own way.”

Dressed in a loose white dress, she took a delicate step forward. Her figure danced with fluid movements, almost seeming to merge with the snow falling all around her. I followed her movements in a daze, my mouth slightly open.

She leaned from side to side, picking herself up each time with grace. As her arm extended to the left, the tips of her fingers met the frozen rain. She then retracted her arm in a circular motion, only to repeat the movement on her right side. It was as if all the snow was gravitating towards her, seduced by her innocent charm. When the shadows of the clouds above parted, her figure became illuminated in the moonlight, creating a fantastical image reminiscent of a queen loved by all that was cold. Yet pure white wasn’t the only color that shone in the moonlight.

A sinister red smoldered as well.

As the woman continued to dance, her dress was slowly dyed crimson. The blotches deepened and darkened, betraying the chaste white’s pleas for forgiveness.

“I can not mourn, and neither can I weep,” she said with sadness in her voice, an emotion I’d never imagined could come from her monotone self. “So I accept my sins.”

The red dripped from her clothes onto the snow below her.

“I let them drown me in their blood.”

The scarlet infection spread, contaminating all that was white.

“I let them infect me with their hatred.”

The snow began to melt, revealing bodies frozen in their last throes of death.

“I let them burn me with their rage.”

The blood seeped into the earth below, ingraining itself deep into the soil and rock.

“I let them scar me with their regret.”

Soaked in the blood of millions, the woman’s white hair, silver eyes, and pale lips were gone. As her performance came to an end, she looked back at me with resolve in her eyes.

“And even though they curse me and proclaim me a harbinger of disaster…”

Slowly, she smiled, presenting her eerie white teeth.

“…I will show no mercy at all.”