| The Girl and Her Sadness PAB, 1992 |
| The little girl starts a journey with Sadness as her only companion. Sadness is an awesome sight, overshadowing the girl in his presence: he's twice her height, humanoid in form but otherwise without form, and blacker than the blackness of the deepest cave. They walk together, with Sadness but a step behind as they follow a forest path. They finally leave the forest, still following the well-worn path, when the little girl notices a small willowy tree just to the right of the path. Suddenly, Sadness embraces the girl so that she can see only blackness. When Sadness returns to his position slightly behind her, she instantly notices that the small tree is barren and dead. They continue on until the path abruptly ends. All around them is desert, with mountains in the far distance, in any direction. The girl hesitates, but knows the decision is left to her as Sadness turns his head to her. At first she considers following the path back, but instead chooses to forge straight ahead into the desert, hoping to gain the beauty and tranquility the mountains seem to possess. The desert is quite barren, but the girl notices a lizard just in front of them. Again Sadness embraces her, engulfing the girl in total blackness. When the embrace is released and Sadness resumes his place, the girl sees that the lizard is dead and the creature quickly turns to bones. They continue on once more and shortly come to a rabbit sitting just in front of them. At first the girl thinks that the rabbit is white, but quickly realizes it is brown and cannot understand her mistake. Again Sadness embraces the girl and she sees nothing but blackness. When Sadness returns to his position, the girl sees the rabbit jerking in its death throes, then the animal quickly turns to bones, then to dust. Instantly, the girl and Sadness stand in an area of vast whiteness with no shape or form. The little girl begins to sob. Sadness comes to the girl's side and gently asks, "Why are you so sad?" "Because there's nothing left to be sad about." |