There once was a girl
whose smile was as beautiful as
the satin shoes she danced in

One morning the girl awakened
Sitting on her bed
was a Beast

Dirt flaked off its grimy coat
leaving trails of black on her sheets
Bloodshot eyes flickered over her
examining every flaw

“Look at you, so plain”

The girl opened her mouth to argue
but The Beast was already gone

???????

It reappeared the next day

It followed her
to Math class
“You can’t solve this”
“You’re not smart enough”

It slunk behind her at lunch
“You can’t eat this”
“You’re already fat”

It shushed her
when she talked to boys
“He’ll never like you”
“You’re not even pretty”

At night
The Beast’s words circled around her
like vultures
drew closer and closer until they settled
onto her head
her bed
her carpet

???????

Months faded away
The words stayed

She repeated them in her head
on her lips
on her skin
in permanent marker
leaving trails of black on her sheets

Like a broken record
filled with distorted sounds

“You are nothing”

She traded in her dance shoes
for a knife
traced the tip over
her arm
imagined herself cutting away
to become

“Nothing”

………

One day, a handsome boy
touched her hair
and said he missed her smile

Her teacher complimented her
when she spoke in a class discussion

Her family hugged her
filling her head with
phrases she refused to believe until now:
“We love you”

“No they don’t”
The Beast sneered
“They’re lying”

The Beast moved closer
words oozing from his molded teeth

“You are nothing”

In The Beast’s bloodshot eyes
the girl saw her own reflection
Scared
Unsure
Plain
but far from nothing

“No!”
the girl growled

She grabbed the knife
and raised it above her head

“YOU ARE NOTHING!”
she screamed
slashing the knife down on the Beast

There was a shatter, a clang, and a clink…

…and the mirror lay broken on the floor