The Face Stealer

A Story by Jon B

A boy, many years ago, becomes riddles with an intense jealousy.

The Face Stealer

Before love was an object, just a game that needed be won at some point. Before the grandeur that has defined our existence became prevalent. Before mankind became trapped inside of it's hubris, there was the embodiment of all of those things, a select few inhibited these traits. Many millennia ago, when humans were finally developing a sense of existentialism, and breaking what remained of the shackles from their primitive past, was a young man.

He was staring on a summers night, he became plagued with questions that those around him didn't even understand. How he loathed them, those pitiful fools that shouldn't even be near him. While entranced by his anger, he heard a beautiful hymn that could not be far from where he was, it soothed him. Every melody he heard, he repeated in his head instantaneously, he needed to know who was making such beauty. While approaching where it came from, he could tell it was a young woman, at this point he ran to the sound that was now dictating his actions. He saw her there, innocent, elegant, and a beauty far beyond what he thought could exist.

She didn't notice him at first, so he studied her beauty in the meantime. Beautiful skin, that was enhanced by the beauty of her long brown hair. Her hair looked like comets falling down from the sky, it kept going and increased in beauty every inch. By looking at her, he noticed she overtly was weak based on her body, that weakness encompassed the boy in someway, for he was weaker than he was just moments before. She finally noticed him, her smile reminded him of finally seeing the grass after a terrible winter. Her eyes were endless, big like the moon that enthralled him so much. As young boys do, he proclaimed love for her far too quick, the girl smiled, but made motions that clearly showed it was unrequited. He was angry, but couldn't indulge in his bellicose nature because he was still just staring at her, completely amazed. He did come to realize that she was like him, evolved and existential. The night was beautiful, and he finally went hours during the night without staring blankly at the moon. He needed no answers, she was all he needed.

They never interacted during the day, during the night he would hear her singing in a different place than the night before, and she always greeted him with a smile, but continued her singing. The love kept getting bolder, she now looked like a hundred moons, but he felt he was just a crater. Her inquiries, he discovered, were far more profound than his, she introduced him the idea of an omnipotent being, a god. He wanted to refute this, but he couldn't, because he agreed with her, but he wanted to be the one that thought of it. As time passed he became full of petty jealousy, she didn't understand. She felt jealous of him as a matter of fact, but she was more scrupulous than him, she turned her jealousy into admiration. She loved him finally, but at the same time he began to resent her. He became angry, constantly like he was before he met her, he begged this god she always spoke of to help him, without answer.

One night he didn't follow the beautiful sound, and implored god all night long to grant him some sort of edge. Just before the sun rose, he got an answer. This specter in front of him said he could assist him, by giving him a power far beyond that of what the girl had. The boy, without a second going by, complied, and the power was granted. He felt a rush, far greater than the rush of beckoning to the moon. He was about to ask the specter just what his power was, but just like before, he received no answer, he decided to find out on his own.

A group of boys around his age were walking around the village. They have berated and beat up the boy for as long as he could remember, he just glared at them with an intense, devious, smile. All that he wanted to do was abase them, no matter what course of action it took, he wanted to destroy their pride, and their intolerance for those seeking knowledge. He sauntered over to just in front of the groups leader, and stared him down. The leader pointed into the boy's direction, and began to edict his friends to attack the boy, but with a swift hand gesture that felt completely natural to the boy, he stole their identity. He stole the one thing that makes people completely original, he stole their faces. He saw them all attempt to scream, but heard none. He went to a forest, and threw their faces on a facade. He finally heard all of their personal screams, that combined to make a monotonic roar, he felt an incredible sense of pride, and hubris.

As time passed he began steal the faces of those he loathed, people attempted to cajole him into sparing them. He loved the begging so much, that he would spare them, but at the slightest sign of a lack of veneration, he would take it away and throw it on the facade. One thing was missing, however, he had not seen his love in weeks, and began searching for her in the woods. He screamed for her, he needed to find her or else he couldn't feel as happy as he "deserved."

One night, as the moon was as wan as the faceless, he heard a beautiful melody once again. But this time, it was not hopeful and pleasant to the ear, no it was nihilistic, dreary, and tear inducing. He followed the voice once again, he found her in the first place he had, under the tallest tree in the woods. She was naked, her body glistened, and sparkled like the cosmos. He sat close to her, he started singing a long with her, but this time unlike before, the melody could not come to him, every time he thought he got it, the melody was changed and he could not keep up. He began to speak to her, she didn't answer. He began to get closer, she didn't move at all, her body stayed still. He became angry and beseeched her to answer him.

She finally answered "I always loved you, you didn't need to be more powerful than everyone else to deserve my love, but now that you are, I see you are as evil as everyone else." He responded with incredible rage

"How can you judge? Your power was always far beyond mine, I couldn't compete with you, you made me feel like a child by the way you pondered these amazing things."

"You are a child" She said back, without emotion.

He screamed, and without thinking he stole her face, but his power got out of hand and he stole her body as well. She vanished. The boy smiled for less than an instant, then realized what he had done, what he had been doing, who he was. He cursed the name of god, screamed for him to come down and relinquish him from the curse that is power. The screams on those on the facade increased in volume, and were now piercing the ears of the boy, his mind was lost. He continued to scream at god to free him, minute after minute becoming more and more, belligerent.

Finally, God came to him, and told him he would relinquish him from this curse. The boy crawled to his knees and thanked God, repenting all of the blasphamist remarks he had made just uttered moments ago.

"Still, you must suffer." God said to him.

"What? No, I have suffered enough" He retorted.

Then, the boy's face vanished and was placed in the palms of god. He threw it all the way to the moon. The boy didn't understand immediately, but he soon came to realize that he, as the moon, would be forced to watch all the sufferings of humanity, and witness all the screams, all the death, all the granger. God believed this was the best possible punishment for him, and now he has stayed there, always watching our suffrage.