John

The Wart of Woe, by John Michael Estes

###From whence it comes no one is sure, nor can they ascertain exactly what it is. It appears at times when needed most by the most distressed of souls. It has been called many things and has taken on many forms. It seems to be an ethereal idea rather than a hard material object; an idea that pushes itself through into matter and takes on a shape, like a planet or the Sun. It has been called by many names, but in this current manifestation it is called the Wart of Woe.
###It is the object that manifests to those solemn, brooding beings that are weighed down by worry and despair. It appears at the very moment they feel they can stay above the surface no longer, when they are exhausted of their last energy, and feel certain they are doomed to a dark, drowning death. It appears to them, perhaps sitting upon their doorstep, or upon a fallen tree across their path through the wood. It looks up at them with this stupid grin, its wart-head, and it’s broken neck.
###The Wart of Woe appears and the unwary intended hand grasps it out of curiosity. It is lifted from the Earth for a closer look and the circle of the rite is completed and sealed. He is now its new owner for life, and only death or destruction can do them part. An attempt is made to throw it, to cast it away, from the owner’s hand and success seems to be obtained. However, the new owner turns only to see the Wart of Woe peering up at him with the same mocking expression of perpetual unconcern.
###The new owner grasps it in a fit of disgust and throws it again and again, always with the same result. Finally, in a fire of exasperation, he squeezes the thing with all of his might and shouts at it, pouring malevolence upon the mocking object. But as suddenly as it was conjured, the ill will evaporates, not satiated at all, but rather just – gone. The owner raises his brows in surprise at the unburdening of his scorn and casts yet more upon this figure from his haughty reserve of animosity. The Wart of Woe accepts it kindly with a witless expression of indifference.
###So to the owner’s bewilderment it is revealed that this odd thing is not a cursed doll at all, but rather a blessed talisman. It is a literal godsend that is the energizing agent which enters a struggling life at the very crux of change. The new owner grins a wryly grin, not the former one lined with weariness and darkness, but one of newfound sophistry and enlightenment. He then chuckles victoriously to himself as he marches forward to face life on his terms.