"Through everything dark, comes something beautiful, but to find that silver lining, we must remain strong"

Peaceful. That's what this place is. Where small snowy flowers settled upon viridian pads bob and slide over crystal clear waters. Willow trees dip their long fingers in the crisp river, reaching but never touching the auburn koi and sleepy minnows beneath these waters. Honey dew sand sits and waits on the bank - the waters reflection spews across in silky silver lines. 

Dubiously, a young boy wonders to the bank, gazing at the minnows that sleep in a daze on the bottom of the flowing river. He had been told by his village not to wander this far, that a danger hides within these woods. But Benjamin had never been one to follow rules and edges further towards the water's edge and crouches, his feet marking his presence in the sand.

Behind him, the faint sound of a girls tears hitting the mossy woodland carpet meets his ears. He turns, but sees no one and is instead met by the hazy gaze of the clover forest. Benjamin turns back to the drifting river but instead of watching the koi and sleepy minnows that were once there, his is met by the reflection of a dark creature. He doesn't want to look up, far too fixated on the mysterious reflection, until he hears the soft pitta patta of tears once more. Slowly but cautiously, Benjamin looks towards the creature of the night across the river. Both in eyelock, Benjamin can't look away - and neither can she. Her hair a black as a night without stars. Eyes, her eyes of a deep green, a green that made the lily pads envious and reminded him of the forest just after rain in the Spring. Her face splattered with freckles, like an artist would with watercolours and a brush. Something was wrong though. Half her face was scarred - burnt like earth after fire. One eye grey as dust. Tears begin to well up in the girl's green eye and Benjamin mimics. Never had he seen such beauty and tragedy in one person.

He starts to stand. The girls face twists into horror. As she is about to dart away Benjamin reaches out a hand. She stops. Her face falls into confusion. Walking over the shallow river under the shade of a drowsy willow, Benjamin offers her his hand. Hesitant, she takes his hand and falls to her knees weeping more than the willows. Asking why she was crying, the girl replied through gloomy tears. Her tears thumped on the soil beneath them but when landing they held their shape, as if made of diamonds. Hearing her reply, the boy picked up her crystal tears from the sugary sand and bound them to a thin strand from the willow tree. He handed her the necklace with a thousand diamond tears, and whispered to her gently, "Through everything dark, comes something beautiful, but to find that silver lining, we must remain strong".