Tears

chen ping, Abandoned Girl (museum collection),
2008, oil on canvas, 180 x 150 cm


Staring out the window, all that she could feel was sadness, the feeling overwhelmed her, grabbed her roughly overpowering her until she had no choice but to succumb to its strength. A single tear rolled down her cheek, followed by a dozen more. Smudging her mascara, tears filled with coiling black smoke, leaving a trail of charcoal down her face.