Lines of Crimson

There's not that much I can say about this one that isn't said in the story itself.

…..delicately, he applied the strokes of paint to the girls skin. Like the sun shining down and giving life to the forest, the lines of crimson streaked across her pale face; giving life to his canvas. He did his craft with the utmost responsibility, for perhaps only he knew the true value of the Lines of Crimson.

They were dedication. Not like the unyielding waves of the ocean, but like its rolling tides moved in unison under the guidance of a divine force. The Lines of Crimson were the dedication of a people who seldom understood the true power of the forest. Yet among their rank and file, some few did show a compassion for Nature. They were the reason for the Lines of Crimson; they were dedication for a lost cause.

And in them there was a unique beauty. A respect for something they should have never held. Like the chorus of the wolf and the owl. They knew that it was not their medium, yet they tried and made the most beautiful music that could be heard under all other sounds. It was the same sense that they were willing to fall with a foreign liege, that made them part of that strange culture of anti-culture.

The girl sat before him in total silence and a void of movement. She was beautiful; maybe more, she was refreshing. Like a flower in the spring, the first color to contrast a uniform white. She was beautiful; yet it would take his help for her to be a masterpiece. And so as he placed the last stroke in his masterpiece her face opened up into a warm smile for the deed he had granted to her.

She got up to leave the cave, her slender body moving with grace and confidence. And as she reached the exit from the raccoon's den set into the cliff side she looked back over her shoulder at the artist who had done such a masterful accomplishment upon her being. She looked back over her shoulder and the white fur of her muzzle broke into a faint smile, all she could whisper to the raccoon was “thank you”. For now she could go and die for her home with the knowledge that it was finally hers.

Author's Note

Id love to hear from you, even if its just a like it means a lot to know that you actually read it; certainly more than just an anonymous page view.

Reviews

[Katie de Lavani]

I loved how when it first began, you thought they were humans and in the end you are shocked to find that they are animals. The diction is powerful and colorful.
And I know what you mean about people just reading and not commenting, haha.