Breed Of Emotions

Murky City Lights

     My boots, once a sheen, clean black, were suddenly stained a slight brown shade towards the bottom half. Chunks of wet, disintegrating dirt slid down the monochrome sides, and as I lifted up my foot from the powerful grip of the muddy splotch, the sound of an ogre burping soon followed after. I looked back upwards, ignoring the fact that my expensive footwear, was reduced to the same value as the small town I had just entered. There was a slight fog, and although it was almost non-existent, I could still feel it, it was as if it was hanging in the air, just waiting for me to choke on it. There were small buildings, if you could even call them buildings, littered throughout the town in such an unorganized fashion, that it seemed to be it's own special type of organized. Although I feel as though I have dropped enough fecal matter on the value of this town already, I will say that this place did have sidewalks right by it's faded roads, which was confusing and impressive in itself. A town like this having sidewalks intact, but rugged houses and chipped streetlamps greatly outshined the decent sidewalks, gave off quite the contradictory vibe. The golden light from those streetlamps though, oh man they were quite the sight. That distinctive brightness and shade could put a firefly to shame, and rival the stars on one of those slow nights where you just stare up to the sky and wonder, what exactly are those lights thinking as they stare back down at us?

I took another step through the soggy dirt, the burping of Mother Nature continuing to feed my disgust for this slum of a town. When I finally reached the sidewalk, there had been a streak of yellowish brown leading from just above the ankles of my jeans, to the very bottom of my costly boots. With a sigh, and a palm slap to the face, I rub my vision clear from the foggy disturbance. The hue from the streetlights illuminated almost every nook and cranny of this underfunded community, and as I approached what appeared to be the town hall, a figure soared out from a corridor that evaded the angelic lights.

No, she didn't need a cape, and no, she didn't need any special powers, a brain that could rival Einstein, the skillset to wield any weapons, or even the money to eat every night. In her raggedy brown robes and hole filled shoes, she loudly hummed sprinting past me, her mahogany hair grazing my fur coat. Those curly locks, they were so captivating, so exquisite. Long strands of ruby rose grew out of her milky scalp, and from behind, it gave the impression that she had a medium length red cape. Her malnourished calves were visible below her lengthy hair, and her voice was so alluring, the music she hummed reminded me of those heavenly harps back home. For a second, she stood still, and when my breath became a little too loud for the energetic child to just ignore, she whipped around with little to no hesitation. Her eyes were a common shade of brown, ones that matched the distasteful coloration of the ogre burping mud I had trudged through mere minutes ago.

She looked at me with a gaze as innocent looking as the rugged plush bunny she held, it was covered in dirt and had a ripped ear. She was clutching the only ear that was still intact in her tiny pale fingers. A few groups of curly mahogany rested around the right half of her face as she met my gaze with hers and chuckled at me, she just had to be special somehow. I didn't know what to do exactly, who would? I mean, this ravishing little girl, who appeared to be the same young ripe age as me, was now staring at me dressed in rags in a town of grimness. After a minute of peering into each other's faces, her eyes tilted into an energetic appearance, and her small chapped lips rose to a smile.

"What's your favorite color bub?"

I was taken aback by this sudden question, and by what she had just called me.

"Excuse me?" I managed to choke out, I could feel my cheeks beginning to heat up.

She took a step closer to me, her bare foot silently splashing into a dark foggy puddle of water, her smile widening ever so slightly as she waited for an answer. I stood there, my mouth agape, colors began to wiggle around in my thoughts as I tried to pick a single hue.

"I'd have to say red."

The girl paused her slow approach, her face as surprised as mine when she first spoke. With a flattered giggle, she trotted up to me and took my hand in her bunny free hand. I gasped loudly in shock, my face now burning to the same shade as her hair, and she pulled me forward with her as she charged through the poor town. The murky city lights lit up our path ahead as she continued sprinting, pulling me along, and splashing small waves of gross water everywhere. I sighed in my head as I realized how disgusting my apparel was now. What was she exactly?

She stopped sprinting after a few minutes, loosened her grip on my hand, and kneeled over to catch her breath. I looked around, there were fewer buildings on this side of town, and the midnight sky was clearer from here as well. She looked back up to me, and once again reached for my grip. She pulled me over to a spot within a random building. It had no door, and the doorway was cracked and rough, and inside of this unattractive building, I saw just how unimportant this side of town was. There was a big hole in the ceiling, and it appeared to be caving inwards, allowing a smooth pour of moonlight to slide in. Only one specific area of the house was illuminated, a small bed in the center.

"Is this where you...?" I began, but my voice trailed off after she began to giggle.

She walked over to the small, unmade, ravaged bed, her footsteps making light tap sounds against the dirty flooring. The little rabbit, beat up, ripped apart, practically held together by a thin string, was smiling despite the condition it was in. This girl was just like the rabbit she held in her pale, malnourished hand, barely hanging on by a thread. As she stepped into the waterfall of moonlight and smiled, looking straight up, several parts of her red hair began to glow white, giving her hair a lighter hue and white streaks. Her brown eyes lightened, becoming a glowing caramel coloration, and her pale skin lit up to an impossible white. She was an angel.

I stared wide eyed at the heavenly portrait, a girl with nothing, literally nothing, was bathing in moonlight as if she had everything in the world at her fingertips. Then, a thought popped into my head. I took a step forward, presenting my idea through a quivering voice.

"Co...come with me!"

She tilted her head towards me, her eyes barely open due to blindness from the moonlight, confusion present in her half revealed pupils.

"You don't have to live like this, where I'm from you could have everything!"

She turned completely to face me, and I swear as she stood there staring at me, basked in moonlight, I was more vulnerable than I've ever been.

"You don't understand." She laughed.

I gasped, slightly stepping back. She hopped off the bed, the bunny following in her hand. Her mahogany curls bouncing as she landed on her feet and jogged past me, outside the door of the mangled house and into the devastated damp streets. She smiled and continued laughing out loud, waving her arms and the bunny around in the air. The little girl, dressed in rags and bare feet, danced through the streets, in and out of those murky city lights, and through a huge smile she giddily cheered.

"I'm the richest person alive!"

No, she didn't need a cape, and no, she didn't need any special powers, a brain that could rival Einstein, the skillset to wield any weapons, or even the money to eat every night. In her raggedy brown robes and hole filled shoes, she made me realize something valuable about life, about art, and about love.

Neither did I.