Make of These What You Will

Painting

She never moved. Never blinked. Never made a sound. Never even breathed. Then again, she was just a painting. But she was always watching, always staring out of her world.

These are all facts, proven true from years of observation. They are also the thoughts that float through the boy's head everyday as he gazes at the small painting in the back of the room. He has never seen anyone else admire her. A new thought pops into his head.

Why? Why was she always overlooked?

From a distance it looked like she was just a boring, dark painting and it earned her only quick glances before people turned their attention to the larger, grander, louder paintings. They look away because their initial glance shows an image that is unappealing compared to those surrounding it.

The painting portrays a girl standing in a dark forest of greys and blacks. She is surrounded by ghostly figures as she stares out of the painting. Her clothes are shadows and her face holds no expression. It is unappealing at first glance because it seems boring when it is surrounded by color.

The boy does not see it, see her, as unappealing, for he was one who took a second look. He does not see her as boring because a second look reveals interesting secrets that she hides from a glance. It was all because of that second look that the boy discovered...her eyes.

While the rest of the painting was bland and colorless, her eyes held a world of emotion. But no one discovers her secret because they do not care for the first glance.

But he cared.

                                                                     ~-~

Please, feel free to leave a comment that tells me what this means to you. I'd love to hear what you think! And maybe if I get enough readers, I'll tell you what this story means to me.

Yes, that was a challenge.