The horned monster

Everyone in her hometown treated her like dirt, like a monster, like she didn't belong. She tried to run away from her problems but everywhere she went, everyone viewed her as the devil. Everyone in her hometown treated her like dirt, like she didn’t belong. When she ran away, the stares and whispers followed her wherever she went.

One day, deep in the woods, she heard sobbing and found a lost little boy, scraped and tearful. He recoiled at first, but when she offered her hand, he hesitantly took it. Together, they wandered until they found a dirt path, and soon after, the boy’s mother appeared, her lantern bobbing in the distance.

The boy ran to his mother, who hugged him tight before turning to her with gratitude in her eyes. “Thank you,” the woman said softly.

The boy ran back, wrapping his arms around her. “You’re not the devil,” he whispered. “You’re an angel.”

For the first time, she believed it.