Short Stories

Lovely and Broken

      She was somewhat of an urban legend in the town. It was said that she would seduce you, steal your heart, and disappear, leaving you broken and loveless. If you ever encountered her, you'd know. She is the beautiful girl at the party, dressed in pitch black or blood red, flirting her way across the room to you. She is the sweet girl at the library or schoolhouse asking you for directions or recommendations, and you can't help but stop to talk to her. She is the mysterious stranger that you brush hands with, and she winks at you, drawing you in.
         Or maybe she is only there in small moments. In the way the leaves fall in autumn. In the smile of someone you love. In a beautiful piece of art, or a catchy song, or a well written verse of poetry. She is there in everything you do, waiting.
        She has been called many things: love, beauty, seduction, life, pain. Of course you will fall for her. Everyone does. And once she leaves, you will break. You will shatter into pieces and nothing will save you. But you will also learn from her. She will teach you things you never would have learned without her absence. And in the end, she will still be there. She will remain in the beauty of the world, and it will leave you wondering where she went.