Blank Canvas



         Snow covered the ground and more fell from the sky with each passing second. Families huddled next to the fire on this cold winter day and people would wrap themselves in blankets. There were no cars on the snow-covered street.


         Time passed and day faded into night. The snow stopped falling and the night sky was now clear. A full moon shone in the sky. Everything was perfect…. for most people.


         She walked down the sidewalk in a slow steady pace. She looked to be about 16. Her shoulder length black hair swished back and forth as she walked. It did not look like it was brushed. Her dark brown eyes stared down at the sidewalk. Her skin was fair and nearly flawless. She wore faded and blue jeans and a baggy black shirt with a blue jean jacket thrown over it. Her black sneakers looked worn from age and she had on no socks.


         She was sad today, because someone else was sad. She did not know who was sad. This person may have even been hiding their feelings.


         But that did not matter. She felt like a blank canvas that anyone could just paint his or her feelings upon. She could hide her own feelings, but when it came to this, she could not help but feel sad. She could even feel happy if someone else did. She could even feel others pain….


         That’s why she’s here. To get away from everyone. Away from the feelings that fly through the air. But she knows that may never happen. There will always be someone around.


         She just wants to be alone, an impossible task. She just wants to stay away from everyone. No one will ever know how she feels…. because she has no problems hiding her own emotions. No one can ever get near enough to her to find out what’s really going on.


         Snow began to fall again. People started to go to sleep. The girl just continued on her way. She just took the fate of someone without a destination….


         All of a sudden, she heard the sound of an ambulance, a fire truck, and a police car. The sirens of them made a deadly melody in the silence of the night. They came whizzing pass her and she ran after them. She ran around a corner and quite a site came to view before her. A large building was on fire. Flames licked the sky as the fire fighters tried to put it out.


         “What’s going on?” asked the girl.


         A policeman turned to her and said, “just a fire, nothing to worry about.”


         Another one spoke. “It was just an empty warehouse. No one was inside and the fire will not spread here.”


         Pain shot through her. Fear clouded her senses. She felt as if she was on fire….


         That warehouse was not empty.


         She pushed past the crowd and ran towards the building. People were surprised at this and some tried to keep her from coming closer to the fire. She did not stop though. The 16-year-old girl ran into the warehouse and into the flames.


         Smoke hindered her vision and made it hard to breathe. Relying on only her senses, she tries to locate the person in the building. She turned left and right and left again. She just continued through the maze of fire. Then she heard sobbing.


         In a small bathroom sat a boy. He was about 13 and wore raggedy clothes covered with ash. She approached the boy and pulled him to his feet.


         “Get out of here now!” she hissed.


         He just stared at her with a vacant expression. He was just too shocked to comprehend what was going on. Tears still fell down his face.


         She guided him back through the maze. She was already burnt in several places and the boy seemed better off than her. Soon, she heard yelling from outside and followed the noise.


         The entrance was now visible. She was almost out.


         Just a few more steps to go….


         A crackling sound was heard above her and without a second thought she pushed the boy through the doorway. He fell and scraped along the sidewalk, but he was out. He was safe.


         Something fell from above her. A large flaming piece of wood crashed down upon her body. She let out a short scream before falling silent. She passed out from the hit, and her body burned in the flames.


         The blank canvas was no more. Now, it was just a pile of ashes which no one could paint their feelings upon. Just ashes.


         There was one thing she never knew. She wasn't just a blank canvas. She was a beautiful painting....



End

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