From the first light, her day was a tapestry woven with expectation and effort. A gentle smile for every request, a soft “yes” for every need. She poured herself into tasks, serving, smoothing edges, anticipating desires unspoken. Each word of praise, each nod of approval, was a small, fleeting warmth, quickly consumed by the relentless pace. She was a vessel perpetually emptying, offering up her essence to others, chasing the elusive shimmer of validation that never quite settled.
As the last echoes of the day faded, and the demands grew silent, a profound weariness settled into her bones. Her shoulders slumped, her gaze grew distant. It was then, in the deepening twilight, that she began her slow, necessary retreat. She shed the day’s bright, brittle skin, seeking refuge not in light, but in a profound, enveloping quiet.
She moved through her space, gathering the pieces of herself, pulling them inward. The world outside, with its clamor and its expectations, began to recede, becoming a distant hum. As the last vestiges of daylight surrendered to the deep indigo of night, she found her true chamber. It was a dark, hushed sanctuary within her own spirit, a boundless expanse of stillness.
Here, in this comforting void, her form shifted. The human shell, exhausted and depleted, dissolved. Her spirit coalesced, sleek and sharp, into the form of a dark crow. It was not a flight of fear, but a homecoming. She rose, silent and sure, finding her perch upon the majestic antler crown that now adorned the silent, human vessel. These antlers, symbols of strength and wild solitude, were her throne in the quietude.
No longer seeking, no longer striving, her emptiness became her deepest comfort. It was not a void to be filled, but a sacred space to simply be. The incessant internal voice, so active during the day, now fell silent, absorbed by the vast, peaceful night. She was at peace, still and whole in the embrace of her own profound darkness. Until tomorrow, when the light would return, and with it, the world’s demands. But for now, there was only this. This quiet. This comfort.
Story and art by Damian Smith
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