8/14/2019 To Stumble Through Mists and Masks

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To Stumble Through Mists and Masks

I was strolling down a lonesome wooded path, accompanied by a soft, cool breeze and the warmsmell of a far off meadow soaking in the sun. My mind was blank as I wandered. I let theatmosphere of the forest enthrall my mind like paint thrown upon a canvas. What a mural it was.

I stopped for a brief moment to gaze upon a small gathering of wild flowers which grew in a smallpool of light where the trees had parted to allow the sun to shine through and lay his magnificentpalm upon the ground. I bent down to admire them closer, and began debating with myself whether to pick one or not. "No one would know" I thought, "They are all so equal in beauty, thatone missing would make no difference." But I could not have been more wrong. Out of all theseflowers, which smiled brightly up at me, there stood one that was taller, more fragrant, and moreintellectual than all the others. "Dare I? Dare I rob this collection of its centerpiece? Of its coup degrace, its grand opus?"

I reached down. I lowered my chest, staring just above the petals of the other inhabitants. I sunkmy nostrils deep into its fiery pit and inhaled its pollen ridden fragrance. Entranced by its scent, Ifelt my arms begin to falter. But I paid no attention to my wavering limbs, for too dazed was I bythe pleasure it provided to every sense, to every inch of my being.

Finally, after indulging my every urge within this plant, my arms toppled, crashing to my sides likea lumberjack's prize.

I felt the collective dew soak into my chest with a resounding kshhhh. I pushed myself back andsat upright, gazing at the destruction I had just wrought upon this world. I stared down at MyBeauty, as she stared down at her fallen friends, family, lovers. As she stood there, weeping,hanging drearily over the dead, she began to glow with a soft charm. Before, when she lay withall of her beautiful companions, she had looked gorgeous, and now...Now that the rest laycrumpled and dying, she looked all the more radiant. "My God...." I silently whispered. My eyeswinced and bulged and reflected the glorious shine of the petals, as I wiped away the saliva thathad crawled from my gaping mouth and pooled on my lips. I reached out with three eager fingersand tugged from the base of the stem. The warm earth below it barely moved. With grindingteeth, I constricted its neck within the rest of my fist and ripped it toward me.

Perfect. It tore perfectly right from the point of exposure. No earth disturbed, not a single petal or leaf lost. But as I brought my resplendent prize closer to my face, its aura began to fade. The skyclosed up with blackening clouds and choked the sunlight. This coveted piece of my desire beganto fall apart in my very hands. A small gust of wind whipped by, and slowly, it grew into ascreeching torrent, ripping petals from My Beauty's face and into the air. The sky flashed whitelike hot steel, and the clouds let out a tumultuous CLAP!, just as a hammer crashing down ontoits anvil. CLAP!, a second hammer fall, a second flash of steel, and with that the forebodingcreeek-creeeeek-CRACK! of a bough tearing in two. With that strike, I lay seemingly lifelessamong the other dead, with my barren lover trapped in my arms.

I opened my eyes with a fiery sting, blinded by the Sun's judgmental stare. My Beauty's corpsestill lay in my palm, looking colder than ever. I sat in silent contemplation for a few moments

before sitting up. I once again grew heavy with solace when I laid my eyes on the cemetery thatwas once a small patch of Gaia's grace. The bodies smelled of mold and decay, so I tore themfrom the earth and gathered them into a pile. From where they previously layed, I dug a smallhole, long enough for My Beauty to be comfortable in, and deep enough so as to hide her fromany passers-by. Covering her with a small layer of dirt, I lay the rest of her fallen heroes atop her,and built them into a mound, packed close and neat. If anyone should happen upon this spotagain, they shall know of the deaths. Of the mistakes. Of the pain. And with luck, My Beauty'sbody will reincarnate into a seed, bringing forth even more incomprehensible Beauty into thisworld.

8/14/2019 To Stumble Through Mists and Masks

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I returned to that spot a year later. Nothing new had grown. In fact, that entire area had started todecay. Dark clouds that mimicked exhaust hovered overhead to strangle the sunshine. The treesall hung their heads low like a choir of monks, moaning in penetrating tones in remembrance of those who have vanished.

Before I turned to walk away, and finally block this all from my memory, I let out a small chuckle. Achuckle that grew into a laugh, which grew into a cackle, and finally blossomed into a howlinguproar.

I realized My Beauty had been mine. Mine to control and govern. There had been no storm, NoBlacksmith, No Titan, Nothing besides me, and my hunger for power. I had given it prestige, andin the same few moments, taken it away. For to take away what one loves the most, is to havecomplete, and utter control.

I had loved. I had taken. Now, I had control.