Eyes in The Fire | Mixed Media Project

The old campfire popped with glowing embers. Amber watched as the embers stared back at her. Suddenly, tiny pupils emerged from the smoldering wood. Filled with an ancient story she recalled reading the night before, she cringed and glanced around at her friends.

None of her four friends noticed the eyes from the embers. They laughed and joked, nudging each other while amusing themselves with colorful, enhanced versions of the day's events. She caught the tale end of the one that got away.

Not wanting to bring attention to herself, Amber remained silent.

The eyes grew wide. She blinked, hoping the burning shapes were just a figment of her imagination. But they weren't. They didn't break eye contact, just stared. Uncomfortable, she tried to look away. But the intensity of heat transfixed her gaze.

Silence ensued. For several long moments, the flames blinked back, searching her face.

The warmth she had stolen from the black raven didn't cloak her chill. And he was back to collect. She knew the exact moment she struck down the raven that it was a mistake.

Instantly, she shuddered and pulled the throw higher around her shoulders. It didn't help. Instead, it sent icy tingles first down her spine, then over her entire body, causing her to shiver uncontrollably.

The embers didn’t pop; they blinked. Amber sat, at once feeling alone. Her friends' laughter faded with each word.

Suddenly, she watched the campfire warp into dozens of distinct, glowing irises. They didn't burn out. They just shifted through the coals. She moved sideways, trying to shield herself from the condemning eyes.

She couldn't shake them as they followed her every movement.

When she leaned left, thirty rings of white-hot ash swiveled in unison. The wind died completely, yet the fire began to grow, stretching upward without a sound. Her friends completely disappeared from the campfire.

She was alone in the dark. The only light dimming from the lake house nearby.

From the center of the blaze, an enormous, unblinking crimson pupil fixed directly onto hers. She tried to break the connection and look away, to run into the dark back toward the cabin, but the heat pinned her eyes and body in place.

As the temperature soared, Amber realized the terrible truth...the fire wasn't emitting light. It was looking through a window with the raven nodding in the background.

And she was the thing trapped in the dark.

I rediscovered a Wombo Art design I created in the program for my current mixed media project. Instead of combining it with numerous elements, I decided to use only the image of a fire and eyes at the main subject. A black crow, hand reaching out of the ground, and one additional large eye was added for my storyline mystery.

Below are my steps in which I utilized Canva, my design program, to blend the different type images which began with a blank, white canvas. I then added layers of elements to assist in the blending process.

I include here the images used in my design.

^{Wombo Art Trading Card titled "Eyes on Fire" ~ Handing Reaching up from fire ~ Crow sitting on rock - Contributed to #LIL by @redheadpei ~ Blue Eye - Contributed to #LIL by @eve66}