The following is a piece that I wrote and illustrated years ago with Shel Silverstein’s poem “Masks” in mind. I remember always loving Silverstein as a kid, but his poetry has resonated so much more with me as an adult. “Masks” spoke to me on an especially powerful level, and because of it, a short story about a lost girl named Blue began to form.

This was originally performed as a spoken word and visual piece for the 2013 Miss SAE Pageant at the University of La Verne.

Once upon a time, a girl named Blue lived in a village in her native land. She was happy and safe at home with her people, but sometimes she wondered what it was like out there in the world, what it was like out in the unknown lands.

Suddenly, one night, Blue woke up and saw red. She saw fire all around her, burning down her village, and she was scared.

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