A Monster Was Born ✔️

Your Shining Light (Part I)

Suri had just finished a lasting paint stroke before she heard a knock on the door. She didn't need to look up to know that it's her friend, Gabbi, who wanted to borrow a dress of hers and ended up staying the weekend. She sauntered over wearing a sleeveless navy blue dress with cherry blossoms blooming in a dot-like pattern. Suri thought it matched Gabbi's white sneakers and dark brown hair tied in a ponytail as Gabbi smoothed out the wrinkles.

"Wow," she said, glancing at Suri's artwork. It was of a woman in a field of white roses, and the flowers seemed to swallow her whole as she danced in the moonlight, petals blowing in the night breeze circling her like a summer storm. There was a white glow surrounding her as light reflected off of her body and the silks she wore flew about her like elegant wings. If Suri was proud of her work, it didn't show.

"Thanks," Suri replied, leaning back a bit to observe her art. "But it's really not that good. The colors are too light and I can't get the right facial expression. It's supposed to have emotion in it, for the piece to truly touch her audience, but I don't think I'm ready for it yet."

"Oh?"

Confused, Suri turned to face Gabbi, and for a moment the two girls were so close their noses were almost touching. Gabbi, however, struggled to figure out what to say before whispering, "I know people may have told you this before, but you really are an amazing person. Humble, nice, gentle, kind, smart, and talented. Even now, you're shining. It's like I can't stop myself from feeling jealous."

Suri's face softened. "Don't say that. Gabbi, I'm sure that one day you will find your own path, and it might be one very different from mine. I'm really not that amazing, and one day you will no longer be jealous of me."

Gabbi smiled, and for the first time, there was a twinkle in her emerald eyes. She looked down at her dress again and touched it. "It's okay if I borrow this one, right?" She asked.

"Sure. It looks really great on you."

"And can you get the answers for the bio and english homeworks by tomorrow? Sorry to be asking so much of you, but some of the questions really confused me."

"Sure, I'll just email you a pdf of it tonight, okay?"

Gabbi nodded, and with a last twirl of her dress, left Suri's home, ready to share with her other friends the new excitement. Suri sighed a little when Gabbi closed the door. She wanted to be happy for those she knew, even if they were just using her. She looked at her painting again. It looked like a dream, that tranquil glow surrounding the woman, the moonlight like the gentle beckoning of a goddess. Suri wished she could meet that dream again, that she could be less selfish for the people she wanted to help.

She was already able to help many people, even if they didn't respond to her offers. Disabled children, frightened animals, elderly people, friends at school, her parents at home. All of their stories touched Suri so much that she gave them her all. Yet, no matter how much she seemed to give, people wouldn't let her close the distance. They followed and smiled and waved at her but they would never get close, would never share secrets and go to the movies, or do all that other fun stuff friends do when they are together. Sometimes, it made Suri rather sad, but she would quickly brush it off, saying to herself she is silly to be thinking that way. She was raised in a loving family, had good food to eat, and a home to stay in. Anything else was unneeded.

And so the painting days went on. Nights of cold rain melted into darkness lit by the lights of fireflies and the songs of the hunters. Suri painted every day, of the moments unforgettable and beautiful. She painted the sunset, colors of gold and orange colliding with a sky that was slowly dissolving into memory, as though the ocean and the stars were connected by a thin line, and reflected off of each other's promises. In the daytime afternoon, she would often fall asleep while listening to music under the summer sun. The melody of bluestone alleyway brushed by her ear, and she heard the sound of someone who understood pain and loss and had made peace with it, who spent his hopeful days in tragedy.

Suri sometimes saw her friends, but those encounters got far rarer once school was out. Most of the time, the only reason why a classmate would call her was to ask about an assignment or borrow something from her. Suri always agreed to these requests. She wanted to be someone who others could depend on, no matter how trivial or mean-spirited their wants were.

When she returned home from her walks to the store, she knew her grandparents would be home, and she would cook for them, for she loved them more than anyone else. She would mix the potatoes and carrots and beans into stews and meals, laughing with a heart full of mirth as they chatted about their days, what they saw on the news, what they watched on television. Suri knew happiness because happiness was always with her.

One day, after Suri finished her day of painting and cooking and was lying on her bed trying to sleep, she noticed a presence above her, glimmering, a light like a portal testing the waters to her world. She immediately startled and rubbed her eyes as though this was just a dream. A girl her age came from the light. Long, blond hair floated around her in waves in a haunting shadow and she wore black clothing from head to toe. A strange glow surrounded her and made aware that she was translucent, letting Suri easily see the posters and closet behind her. Her red eyes were like ice as they stared directly into Suri's.