Storytelling is a way to create art with only your thoughts and your mouth. This is what has become my most treasured ideal and dream to me. Yet there is also a dragon that protects his horde that is my love for stories; his name is Doubt. Feared by all with his words of quiet hate and discouragement, most shy away from the gold that are words.
Yet I could not. I could not stay away from the great beauty of words. For I had wandered in as a child; lost, alone…..searching for some kind of comforting warmth to fill my young heart. And there, I saw it! In the distance of the night I saw a faint light. So I walked in with wide eyes and my heart grew.
I began to grow old beyond my age. My mind began to see the cruel things Doubt had whispered to me at night. Death, rage, disease, and sorrow spoiled my childhood innocence. Yet my wonder only thrived. For I saw beauty in the pain, and only felt understanding at the anger filled words spoken. I learned that every villain was once a victim and we have to acknowledge that; even though we may not agree with it.
Doubt saw that I was going stronger, growing into myself, and he feared for his horde. So he whispered one last time before falling silent in slumber: "Who is the true you? What face is yours and not one that was given to you?" Still a child, I felt confused by the question. I still did not fully understand the beast that was Doubt, but I knew that it was not some trifle being.
I still struggle with this question, now more than ever. Maybe people were right to leave his golden hole alone. Though, I still would go down that same path with the people i have grown closest to; people who have never existed expect in my imagination. I have time to find myself again, and people that will help me find what my true face is. I may have many, for people are rarely flat in reality or in fiction.
Doubt may seem like a scary dragon to most, but I have begun to see him more as a wise man with a fiery temper. Who knows, he may just be a forgotten prince or a swords master lost in a curse to protect this secret. Now that, is a story I would love to hear.