Fragments Gallery
Young Imagination
The young boy is lying on the lawn, his head resting on his hands which are folded before him and pressed into the ground, crushing the thick blades of grass. His eyes narrow as he stares across the yard, staring out across the street. His toes wind through the grass behind him, the blades brush softly against his bare skin. He blinks; his mouth hangs slightly open for a moment and then tightens into a challenging smirk. The boy's gaze never wavers from the objects of his attention.
From across the street, in a neighbor’s yard, they stare back icily. Watching, forever watching, him watch them. Something in their gaze unnerves the boy and he draws back, recoiling from them, dropping his gaze to the turf in front of his nose. But nothing scares him off for long. After a moment he looks up again, his eyes locked onto theirs, trying to stare down all four of them at once. A burning gaze.
Stoically they meet his eyes, never blinking, their features set in stone.
The boy's gaze intensifie;, his breathing quickens and then slows. They stare back, their gaze's cold, unforgiving. Inhuman.
The boy scowls, no matter how hard he stares their expressions never waver, their poses remain concrete. One of them seems to smirk at him, seemingly knowing his thoughts. "Jacob what are you doing?" came a stern voice from the door to the house. Jacob left off his silent battle of stares and looks towards his mother, "I'm not doing nothing."
"Of course you are, you're staring across the yard again." She pursed her lips and looked towards the neighbor's lawn, "Are you staring at those garden gnomes again?"
"No," said the boy defiantly and then sulkily changed his answer, "Yes."
"Why? They are just stone; they won't run over and try to eat you. Come now, you have work to do. You needn't waste your time out here." Taking her son by the hand she drew him towards the door. Jacob shot one last look at the garden gnomes before he was drawn into the house. They looked as they always had; four little stone figures, skin painted with flesh tones and wearing little green and red vests with black pants. Little white beards reached down the front of their clothing, waves in the beard carved in with extra care. The eyes smooth white painted orbs. Jacob was pulled into the house and the gnomes were lost from site.
Outside there was the faint sound of stone grinding on stone as one of the gnome's lips curved up into a smile.
Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not there.