The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Gentler Tones
by J.C. Jance

“Mother?”

“Daughter.”

“I hurt.”

“I understand, my child, I hurt too.”

“Why do we have to hurt, Mother? Where is the beauty songs sing of, the joy that makes others smile, the gifts life holds?”

“All those things exist, my child, but they are not for us.”

“Why? Why can’t we have those things? Why are they only for others?”

“Ah, my sweet. Our lot in life is not to revel, not to find happiness. We aren’t like them.”

“What are we like, Mother?”

“We’re cruel, unkind. We were created to steal the light from life, snuff the brightness, collect their souls.”

“To what purpose?”

“To bring them home, my child. Their kingdom awaits, though not the one they expect. Their rapturous voices sing of a place far kinder than they will ever see. Do not envy them, Daughter.”

“More lies, Mother?”

“Yes, my child, more lies.”

Fiction © Copyright J.C. Jance
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com