The Melancholy Tales of the Pearl-Tears

This time, the girl was lying beside a tree, her mud-colored hair the shade of the bark, her ragged breaths escaping into the summer air. Multiple loud jeers could be heard in the silent night. A gang of boys rounded the corner; they quickly silenced themselves when they saw the girl on the ground. They picked up stones, sticks, and anything else they could get their hands on. Sniggering loudly, they threw them at her; the sounds of her grunts pleased them.

In a black feathery whirlwind, a boy pushed the biggest boy to the ground. He whispered curses under his breath, and punched each boy three times in the stomach. They all fell, some running away in panic. In a frenzy of punches and kicks from the feathered-hair boy, the remaining gang of boys dispersed, clutching their stomachs and screaming insults at the demonic-looking being.

The boy knelt down next to the girl, plucking out a black, glossy feather from atop his head. “Here,” He growled, his voice was raw and feral. She took the feather, clutching it tightly against her chest. It disintegrated in to ash, covering her front. “This powder will always be in the air, it will help you to see.” She nodded, her clouded eyes looking frantically around. She still couldn’t see, but she didn’t care, she hastily asked “What is your name…?” then she inhaled deeply, “I remember your growl. You’ve helped me once before,” she paused, “I’m certain of it.”

“Tell me yours first.” He asked in a low voice, barely audible.

She looked away from him, embarrassed, “Annabel-Leigh.”

“Annabel-Leigh,” he muttered. “Annabel-Leigh, my name is Beau.”

She cautiously stretched out her arm, grazing one of his black feathers. This startled the boy, who backed away quickly, like a scared caged animal. “Good-bye, Annabel-Leigh.” He crept into the shadows, something thumped to the ground. Mouthing his name silently, the girl repeated it once, twice, then three times.

She didn’t notice that the boy had left her a loaf of bread.

***

“Annabel-Leigh.” The boy gasped, startled by this revelation. The girl smiled sadly, nodding her head. “Beau.” She whispered weakly.

The boy got up suddenly, the rage in his eyes that was ever-present, burned brighter. Living alone made him an evil being; he was slowly losing himself, losing his memories. He had once had feelings; he had once braved expeditions to the village, he was once courageous. He strode over to the entrance of his cavern, roaring like the thunder he coaxed out of the sky when he was irritated at the village people.

There was a small pile of cinders on the ground that glowed weakly, their light slowly dying without sustenance. As the boy neared the pile, though, the embers shot up, a fountain of flame burst through the ground. With gritted teeth, the boy picked up seven burning logs, one for each sin this whole village surely acted upon. He was tired of their nonsensical lives, they never meant anything to him; he had had enough.

As he raised the first burning log over his head, taking aim at a cottage with a light glowing through the open window, he heard a small yell. He looked over, caught off guard.
The girl was running towards him, a pained expression on her face.

“No!” she exclaimed, groping at his outstretched hand. She pulled the burning log from out of his talon-handed grasp. She yelped in pain, her dirty hands were now scorched; they were raw and pink instead of filthy.

“You are strange.” The boy growled; his burning gaze on her. “These people have spited you, they have hurt you, and they have even sacrificed you. Yet, you, you still choose to save them?”

With her blind eyes the girl looked towards the sky, falling down. “I would never want a child to go through what I’ve gone through. No one deserves to have their loved ones to be taken away from them.” She paused, her voice low. With surprising power, she added savagely “People need people.”

The boy let the burning logs fall, the fires extinguished slowly. She held out the last pearl-tear at him, with lips that quivered. “You will understand. You are not a savage beast, you are kind.”