Beauty, by Eriq Gale-Anderson

On a dark moonlit night, a young girl with ocean-blue eyes runs to her family’s compound in secret. As the girl looks into the calm, moonlit waters, she kneels at the edge and stares into the settled mirror of water and wonders what “real” beauty is. As she heard before from friends and family, “You’re a beautiful young girl with flawless skin and wonderful eyes, rare as blue jewels.” As the girl leans closer, so close that her nose gently touches her reflection in the water, she notices that true beauty comes from within and her features are add-ons. The young girl finds that her inner beauty comes from her joyful personality, but the girl is stuck in confusion. Many people in a way “applaud” the girl on her nearly pale face with high cheek bones and thin lips. The girl has been told that her outside beauty can control people, but others say real beauty comes from within and true people will see it. After the young girl releases her thoughts, she stands and looks up at the fluorescent glow of the moon and says, “The world holds an outward beauty, and humans hold an inside beauty.”