Twisted Chasm

Derek was a curious little boy.
Darkness and looming negativity interested his young mind, as he found solace in occasionally scribbling his words of penance.
A discolored penny did he chance upon the rusted tracks, one winter morning - and with that he gave wings to his over fleeting fancies.
The gloomy flea market across the town did he rush to as the rain pelted down on tired heads. The air reeked of stale fish and carcasses lay strewn upon his way.
In a dark alley across the market, Dory sold antique vases in her dilapidated store and it was here that Derek's wide eyes fell upon her dying piece of art.
Huddled between the most beautiful artifacts in the room, lay shattered pieces of ceramic and something silver, carefully placed on a blue velvet cloth.
Derek's eyes shone with confusion as he looked at Dory - puzzled at her strange indecision.

He placed the "lucky" penny upon the counter and walked away as Dory looked on awestruck.
Derek ran through the rain, which was falling rather heavily then - and looked up at the growing darkness that seemed to consume everything around him.
Once home, he took out his bag of treasure and looked at the broken wonder with the same enthusiasm as he did when he first set eyes on it.
With clay and hours of patience, he put together his sharded amphora.

Seven years later, on an oak table, upon a blue velvet cloth, stood a dark grey vase - with twisted silver arms and a curled neck.There were gaps across its body - empty in several places as Derek didn't have the missing pieces. For years, it stood there - incomplete. Broken still.
Every morning, as sun rays passed through its vacuity, Derek would look on awestruck at the beauty of its incompleteness. Beauty of the emptiness that stood before him in all its dark and twisted glory.

He named her Caligo - after the dark clouds that welcomed her home that winter afternoon.