Heaven In the Wild | Mixed Media Project

She was as graceful as she was unique. They say she was an infant unicorn sent from heaven. They say her mother was an angel who watches over her. They say she was sent among us to redeem. To touch her with grace would bring one good luck and serenity. To harm her would bring untold agony increased tenfold.

Of course, I didn't believe in unicorns. That's the stuff of fairytales.

Then I found her in the woods.

Evening had rushed into twilight. The night sky was aglow with a fiery cover. Immediately, something stirred in the distance. My pulse raced at the thought of a day's bounty. My children's faces crossed my thoughts. I wouldn't have to return empty-handed.

What happened next was inexorable.

I watched as a form materialized into a shape that stood motionless in a patch of ebony moss. The form glowed a dull silver. It looked like something from a dream. Pearl was her outline as she reared up as though startled. For a second, I was transported back in time to another place and time whispered about among the elders.

No! This can't be. I shook my head violently.

My senses returned gradually. She looked like a tiny white deer. But she possessed a mane; thick and flowing. A small single, pulsating horn protruded from her forehead. Her mysterious, jet black eyes held the depth of the night sky. An endless void of time and space. They stared at me.

Every precious moment wasted was a lost opportunity to feed my family. Retrieving the hunting bow, my hand gripped the arrow as I stretched the bowstring and aimed. A dead shot. No way was I going to miss.

Then something horrific happened. An expert archer, I missed.

Immediately, vines began to coil around my feet and tighten as they climbed up my legs. Excruciating pain coursed through my legs. Too overwhelmed with terror to move, I glanced around for help. Immediately, I remembered that I chose to go on this hunting alone. I panicked. Fear invaded my body from toe to head. A knee-jerk reaction, I kicked my trauma into high gear as I stood on the roots of my dilemma anchored to the ground.

It took me several moments to analyze the dire situation I created. Drawing on my hunting expertise, although wincing in pain, I leaned over carefully and reached for my hunting knife in the gear box. Chopping at my ankles while ignoring the pain, I glanced down. There had to be blood. The wounds ran deep, and I could feel the wet sticky gore. Yet no visible sign was present, dripping from my ankles.

What is this trickery? I yelled, pulse pounding in my chest. In that moment, I forgot about the animal. The only thing I could think of was to pray I didn't lose my legs.

All the while, she stood in perfect peace unafraid as though calculating my next move.

The moment I began praying, the vines released my feet from their grip. Sweat poured down my temple as I hobbled over to the stump and threw myself down upon it.

Wielding the heavy iron knife, I propelled myself forward. The old stories whispered in my head. I laughed at the thought of a curse. I was a practical man. Meat was meat. So, I took another few steps forward and raised the blade.

She did not run. She only stared at me with solemn, condemning eyes.

Before I could strike with precision, suddenly a blinding bolt of lightning descended and surrounded the animal in glowing white while simultaneously casting a bolt in my direction. Heat ripped through my chest. It felt like swallowing fire. I stumbled backward. The next moment, my knees hit the cold dirt. The knife slipped from my numb fingers. I couldn't speak or cry for help.

The little creature continued to stare at me for a long moment, then turned and vanished into the thick brush. Her mother watched over her and kept her safe.

Months later, I now sit alone in the camp.

My legs are weak and broken. The wound on my chest healed, but the fire inside never stopped. Every heartbeat is a sharp, crushing pain that will, according to legend, stay with me until my last day. I can no longer hunt and provide for my family.

I'm too ashamed to tell them the truth of my infliction. In private retrospect, the stories of old haunt my thoughts as reality has settled in my space.

The fairytales were real.

And I am paying the price.

I love the concept of unicorns as much as I love the fantasy realm. For my current mixed media project, I discovered an unusual image of a cream colored fantasy steed. My first thought was to transform the animal into a unicorn without altering its appearance. So I envisioned an imaginary horn through my micro fiction story.

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. Two pure fractal butterflies I designed in the advanced version of the fractal rendering program, Apophysis 7X.

^{Female ~ Brown Seed and Plant ~ Gray Horse ~ Yellow Flower on Dark Background ~ Wild Orchid Flowers - Contributed to the #LIL by @borjan ~ Pure Fractal titled "Butterfly In Green" ~ image5}