Old Man Darkness

"My grandmother once told me a story that her grandmother told to her...
Of how, as a small child, she became lost in the Other World through an accident:
The land of youkai and spirits, the place where humans are forbidden to go."

"Fortunately she came into the care of the chieftan of the 'jinbu',
creatures who travelled the Human World by night rooting out evil things.
So it was that Ojii-Kurai, or 'Old Man Darkness'
and his clan returned her to the Human World."

"She died knowing no one would believe her, but she was certain it was not a dream.
She was never again afraid of darkness."
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Watercolor and colored pencil, 11x14 inches.