Midnight In the Garden of Squamata (Part 1) | LMAC FreeStyle Collage No. 27

To her friends, she was "Misty". She loathed that name. Its sound traced a jagged cut down the center of her chest. It carved a tale of untruths that she was of no consequence; floating through life without an inkling of common sense, combined with not an ounce of decency. That's what Misty endured throughout her childhood. No one ever paused to look beyond the outer shell that was her facade protecting the thin veil of her being.

Did she care? Not in the least. Her skin was tough as leather, she surmised. Her inner thoughts and feelings counted. She fiercely protected them.

Those whose eyes turned green focused sharply on Mirabella whenever she walked by. They did so with such venom, she could hear their ominous, degrading, and slimy thoughts crawling through the recesses of her mind.

There was no escaping the constant thoughts of others.

The weekend. Her part-time job at the diner started early for the breakfast crowd.

A rough night of full of horrible dreams left her with a massive headache. She wanted to call in sick, but decided her two-family household needed the extra money.

Why did she have to be assigned to Table 10?

As usual Table 10 was full with the town's prolific gossip mongers. Every Saturday morning, they gathered to collect the latest news everyone could use for whatever devious purpose, and impart part-truths no one wanted to know or believed.

Misty filled a carafe with the diner's strongest breakfast blend she'd prepared specially for that unique group of customers. It would keep their tongues wagging at least for the next two hours.

That she knew them all by name, she didn't divulge as she moved toward their regular booth in the back of the diner.

She knew they blamed her father. He wasn't the right type of parent. And where was the girl's mother? If he was going to raise her as a single parent, then he should be a better disciplinary figure. Instead, he has allowed her to run wild.

In their opinions, Misty's problems were many. How to solve them, they weren't quite sure. None offered to advise Misty or take her under their wings.

Mirabella knew from their thoughts that they were afraid of her.

She just smiled.

But then they did the unthinkable while she took their orders.

They began to formulate disgusting scenarios about her father. Then, they moved to her mother.

Misty's eyes turned red. Her hands flew to her ears. She threw the order booklet on the table, turned, and ran toward the ladies' room.

She didn't notice that she'd swiped her co-worker's arm and knocked him slightly backward, causing the basket of napkins and silverware he was carrying to scatter on the floor.

Once inside, the cool tile on the bathroom floor soothed her face as she alternated pressing her cheeks deep into the crevices.

Did I remember to lock the door, she wondered as thoughts of her mother surfaced.

Jumping up, she locked the door.

The cold water soothed her burning skin as she splashed several handfuls to her face and neck.

Thirty minutes later, she returned to her station. Her co-worker had taken over and finished servicing Table 10. He explained that Misty wasn't feeling well.

The last six months, the co-worker grew accustomed to Misty's behavior. He knew the whispers surrounding her.

At first, he felt pity. She was just a teen and didn't deserve the town's unfair treatment and unfounded rumors about her character and her family.

She just had an odd liking for all animals. But it was her particular fondness for reptiles that caught the disproving eyes of the townspeople. What's a young girl doing with snakes as pets? they whispered.

However, lately Misty's attitude, even toward him, became hostile.

He was more tolerant having been the brunt of mistreatment himself. He understood the quirks and odd habits individuals carry. However, he backed away whenever possible not wanting to upset her.

But they worked the evening counter line and weekend mornings. There was no avoiding contact with her.

Apologies given and accepted, all was again semi-normal.

Misty embraced all that the gossip mongers speculated about her and her family.

To her lone parent, her father, she would pour out the frustration.

Not knowing how to address her ailments, he shrugged and labeled her moods phases of puberty. He kept the remainder of his thoughts to himself.

That night following the diner debacle, Misty decided it was time for her to embark on her future.

"I may have to go away soon." She held her father's hand as he smoothed her long, black hair.

"Of course, you'll be graduating and going away to college. Don't be so dramatic." His voice faded, as he turned from her with tears in his eyes.

Just as her mother left, so would she.

He knew, but never spoke of it. He was powerless to stop it.

[to be continued]

For my Freestyle Collage No. 27, my theme is transformation. In preparing it, I wanted a dark scene with water. LMAC Contest Round 163 photo below from: Let's Make a Collage - A Contest for All Creatives on Hive - Round 163 - ✨111 HIVE in the Prize Pool! provides some detail for my scene; however, I only needed a small portion of the landscape that is already dark:

I wanted my scene to resemble a swamp-like, dark and dramatic setting. This will serve for the young girl as a place where she feels comfortable. She's among friends. I decided early on to give the young lady a scaly tattoo on her back. The lighthouse I included in the distance symbolizes edge of her small town.

The image I chose for her habitat contains numerous details, so I didn't want to overcrowd it.

^Source

Below are the additional images I included to complete my theme:

• Fantasy woman with tattoo mystical night at PxFuel

• Lighthouse Low Back Diagonal No Water Contributed to the #LIL by @donroberts

• Winding stone stairs from Public art from "Sculptures Garden" in Tel Hashomer Contributed to the #LIL by @alex2alex

• Half moon Contributed to the #LIL by @redheadpei

• Black birds Contributed to the #LIL by @onyechi

• Snake statute Contributed to the #LIL by @seckorama

• Fractal entitled "Snake Skin" created by me in Apophysis

• Fractal entitled "Flowers in Red and Yellow created by me in Apophysis