Everyone Cries

inspired by the thumbnail

Annie sits on the balcony off her bedroom, her little hands pressed tightly over her ears and her eyes squeezed shut, trying to block out the sounds of Mommy and Daddy fighting. Tiny tears wiggle themselves from her tear ducts that she tried so desperately to keep closed. As the first one drips from her jaw bone, she lets the dam break, and her hands move from her ears to clutching her sides as she sobs. At seven years old, she knows too much sadness. Her parents have fought for years, and just a few minutes ago, when Annie said to her mother, “Goodnight, I love you.” while she and her father were fighting, trying to interrupt and make them stop, her mother screamed, “LOVE DOESN'T EXIST!”

Annie had run up the stairs faster than she ever had before, trying not to break down before she could make it so she wouldn't cry. But now, that ship has sailed, and she wails, rocking back forth against the white rails of the balcony.

“Love does exist!” She cries to herself, an avid movie watcher. Suddenly she gets up and rubs her eyes, looking up at the brightest star in the sky.

“Please.” She whispers, “I want to fall in love, I want to meet my soul mate and be with him forever.”

-10 years later-

“God I hate calculus.” Annie mutters, slamming shut her text book and laying back on her bed. “There really shouldn't be homework over February vacation.” She stares at her easel, only wanting to paint. But she's had major inspiration block lately, and hasn't painted a line in a whole month, not since she finished the last painting. Suddenly an image pops into her mind, and she practically trips over everything, running to the easel with her pencil before it fades. She sketches it out and stands back, the faint grey outline of a boy staring back at her without pupils. Annie reaches for her acrylic paints and mixes some browns together and starts on his hair.

Over the next week, all she does is paint, perfecting this boy until all that's left is his eyes, which she hasn't been able to decide a color for. She sits on her bed, her paint brush in one hand and her chin in the other, staring into his white eyes and going through all the possibilities.

Finally she gets up and mixes together smokey grey, sea green, and sky blue.

Once the eyes are finished she steps back and looks for any flaw, but she can't find one. In the few minutes it too for the eyes to be painted, he went from a painting, to a real person, in her heart, and in the top left corner she paints the name Ryan.

She turns off the light and falls asleep quickly under the covers, not noticing his eyes blink.

Annie groans as she stretches, the light streaming in her window. She rubs her eyes and opens them, screaming. Where the boy in her painting is now blank canvas, only the background remaining. Then she screams again, seeing him standing, also staring at the canvas, with his perfectly colored eyes. The only difference between him and the painting is that he doesn't have brush strokes, and he's perfectly proportionate, like an actual person.

“Wh- who are you?” She asks, at the same time as he says in a clear voice, “Who are you?”

“I'm Annie Fitch, who are you?” She asks again.

“Ryan.”

“Where did you come from?” She asks.

“There.” He points to the canvas.

“Can I have more detail?”

He walks toward her and the tip of his finger connects with her skin directly where her heart is, and she's too scared to swat him away because he's pretty much touching her breast.

“And there.”

“Okay... either I'm high or dreaming.” She says, moving his finger, which had begun to jab her too hard.

He solemnly shakes his head, “I come from the realm of dreams and wishes... this is definitely reality.” The way he had spoken sounded so formal and almost cold, but as he talks it becomes more warm, like a normal teenage boy. His eyes shine now, instead of being the dull painted color they had been.

“You... wanted me. You wishes for me when you were seven, when your mom told you love didn't exist. You wished for me. I've been with you ever since, but now it's the right time for us to be together.” He explains at her questioning look. And then, without further ado, he kisses her, morning breath and all.

-3 months later-

Ryan has accustomed to being human nicely. He has friends in school, he acts perfectly normal, he even sucks at calculus like a normal person. But Annie's noticed he's become... too normal. He's been phased by the world, and the sadnesses that shake normal people are beginning to shake him.

“Why did you do this to me?” Ryan asks, sitting in Annie's room with her.

“Do what, babe?” She asks, putting down her paints.

“Wish for me! I want to go home!” He shouts.

“Ryan, what's wrong?” Annie asks, wrapping her arms around him, but he wriggles away.

“This world sucks! Everyone is sad, everyone cries, everyone is in pain, everyone is real. I want to go back tot he world of the artificial, where emotions can't be painted, and tears are just permanent blemishes, not actually shed everyday, and where no one dies, where no one wants to die, where I come from, the land of the emotionless. I hate this! I hate that I can hate! I want to go back!”

“B-but Ryan, what about love?” Annie asks, her heart shattering.

He smiles a sad smile, “Sorry, but love doesn't exist, you are the one person who managed to paint it.” Then he rips the brush from her, which is slathered in red paint, and paints it across his throat. He is dead with that little sad smile on his face, his eyes dull and painted. He disappears and reappears on his canvas, back to the way she painted him.

Eyes blurred with tears, Annie reaches for the pills.

“I'll follow you, Ryan. I said we'd be together forever.”

Once her eyes close, she wakes up in a place she had never seen, never dreamed of, but she is not bewildered. Bewildered is emotion.

Annie's mother comes into Annie's room. There is no one there, no Annie or Ryan, just a canvas with both of their faces on it.

Carla had known this would happen. When she was thirteen and found out she was unable to have children, she painted her daughter.

Author's Note

reviews please!

Reviews

[Odayin]

This one really gets you thinking. It had so many nice punches, it seemed like it was lacking realism but yet...it seemed so real. The emotions, the people, the possibilities, even the descriptions of the life's we lead.
The inspiration for this must have been interesting and the way you thought up this ending...great...really, it's just great

[AlwaysCasey]

whoa. That's weird. How? What? whoa.

[ScorpioSun]

It's very well written, a nice almost-fairy story with a bitter edge. I think the ending wrapped it up a bit quick compared to the buildup, but I liked it. I also noticed the boy's name is Ryan which is a character in the novel I just put up :) (shameless plug there)

[Sukhmeet Singh]

cool

[Taylor H.]

mixes together smokey grey, sea green, and sky blue----smoky


I loved this. :) The ending was sad but gave me goosebumps. Very good and well written :)

[.]

So imaginative and unique! I always know its yours by the amazing way you write your stories! Wonderful write! 100/100 :)

[Coyote Poetry]

A very interesting story. I like the way you set-up the story with family problem and negative words on love. I like the use of painting. Painting is poetry. A painting can tell a complete tale with one glance. I like the way she create Ryan. A very strong ending to a excellent story.
Coyote

[Taylor Ann]

This is so creative! It's a fantasy mixed with a reality, and its completely relatable. Its so sad, but then again, so can life at times.
I'm speechless. I don't even know how to respond after reading this, other than it was simply beautiful.
Great work.

[Pratik]

This is very unique.. a perfect mix of reality and the surreal... magic realism! i don't review stories usually; but this was worth it! WELL DONE :)

[Dark and Mysterious]

Speechless....

[Dark and Mysterious]

Wow are you so totally awesome!

[Sophie]

Thank you!