Captured by the Monsters

by R.L. Caulder

I’d always hated the color pink. However, as I grew up and opened my eyes to societal expectations, I realized it wasn’t the color I hated. It was everything that accompanied the stereotype of a female saying they liked pink. That it made us girly, housemakers, and one day mothers. It was “femininity” personified in a color, and I fucking hated it. I hated being boxed into an image that didn’t fit me. I hated being told that I would be an incredible mother and wife one day, even though I was as single as it got. Couldn’t I be more than that? Or was I not enough as I was right now?

Forty-eight hours until I would no longer be eligible to be offered up as a sacrifice to uphold the treaty between The Above and The Below.

“I refuse to be another woman added to the statistic of sacrifices that never return. My name is Serafina Adler, and I’ll be back.”

“I don’t know about humans as a whole, but there is one in particular who’s pretty amazing. She has a smile that lights up a room and is the most beautiful creature in all the lands. Her heart far outshines any of our kind.”