Captivated by Innocence

“My dearest, I know I can not fathom being apart from you like this, but you must trust me as I will do everything in my power to search for you when this is all over. I will go to the ends for you. I just ask you, to not give up hope. For if you do, I will not be able to search for you, and you shall not see me again in this lifetime or the next. Please my darling, please say you will wait for me as I promise I will cross times and all the land to find you.”

During the Roman and Greek Empires, there lived many artists who strived for perfection when it came to their work. Some dabbled in the art of painting, some in sketching, and then there were the artists who took time and effort to make gorgeous statues that you see today in the most prestigious of museums and venues. Every artist has a story for what they craft. A painting can have a thousand words or even stories. However, there was one statue that was created that was different from all the others. But this statue was not created until the late 1600s. That was around the time when the devastating witch trials occurred. Surely, creating such masterpieces during this time must have been difficult. For a regular artist yes, but not for one particular person. No, this person was indeed special. So special, that he is a mere legend inspired by many artists out there who strive to have the same passion and devotion that he had.

“Alright, is everyone ready for the beautiful sculptures we have ready for you for today’s artisan tour?” Said a tour guide at the Museum of Art & Culture in New York City.

It was 1975 on a windy autumn’s day at the art museum. The statue of a legend had just arrived only a week ago and was now being presented in its own room at the famous museum. Everyone was eager to see the statue in person. There was a red velvet cloth around a figure which was guessed to be the sculpture underneath it.

“I know you have all been waiting to see the famous Mon Destin attend Violette. It took a lot to get this beauty here. She had come all the way from Europe.” The red velvet cloth disappeared from the large and realistic-looking statue. A young woman stood as if she was in a state of panic and desperation. Her face could make anyone who views it yearn for what she’s feeling.

“Her name is Violette. The statue in French means “My Destiny Awaits for Violette.”

Violette, her name was of color but her essence was pure beauty. Her hair was long and she had a face of an angel. Even angels would cry seeing her face of despair and yet one could wonder why the artist would create her to look so sad. Her arm was outstretched as if she was reaching out for something or someone. There was something unusual about this statue. Unlike the other statues where the eyes were white with no detail. Her eyes had every detail imaginable. Down to her iris and pupils. It was so realistic looking it was a bit disturbing.

“Wow, she’s pretty Mommy, but why do you think she looks so sad?” A little girl gazed upon the statue.

“Indeed my dear, you know there’s a legend about this statue. A very sad tale but quite fascinating.”

“What is it? I want to know!”

“Well, legend states that this statue is not an ordinary statue. But that Violette here was turned to stone.”

“What? Really? B-But H-How?”

The woman let out a breathy chuckle from her lips. “From what I remember, the legends state that she was turned to stone by her very own lover. But his reasons were for good intentions.”

Suddenly, the crowd gathered around the woman telling the story to her young child, interested in what she had to say.

“You see, the lover was a young and handsome sorcerer. But, no one seemed to know that this sorcerer was indeed magic. During the 17th century, anything of the supernatural or anything that was related to magic was deemed bad and evil. Many women during this time were accused of being witches for unfair reasons. Some were witches, but most were wrongly accused. Sadly, they all were put to death. The young sorcerer could not bare what was going on in his village, but he had no power to stop it. Instead, he had to hide his true self away from the village people. Eventually, he had come to the decision to flee before it was too late. However, that all changed when he set his eyes on the young and beautiful Violette. He had pure love for her as she captivated his heart with her beauty with one glance. The two became closer and were lovers in no time. However, the accusations and trials were getting worse. People were starting to assume that Violette also was a witch due to the accusations against her mother and also because women were jealous of her beauty and popularity with some of the village men. Violette was accused of being a witch and was to be sentenced to death. The sorcerer knew he had to do something and wasn’t going to stand for his only love to be executed before him. Thus, he made the decision to hide her away. Somewhere where he thought no one would be able to find her. He had turned her to stone and put a spell on her so that she could not be broken no matter how many times she may fall or if someone were to try to inflict harm on her. The sorcerer locked her away to where he believed no one would find her and he vowed that 300 years from when he turned her to stone, he would find her again. After that, the legend states that the sorcerer went into hiding, keeping himself young in hopes to find Violette again. ”

Gasps and chatter filled the room, the legend was quite an interesting one as no sculpture in the museum had a story like it.

“Legend states that the sorcerer put a very special spell on the statue. In 300 or so years, the spell would be broken and Violette would be awakened. However, she would be awakened as an infant and be forced to grow and adapt to new life. Once she reaches adulthood, the sorcerer is said to come back to the new world in order to find his beloved once again.”

‘Wow so romantic’ ‘That is one crazy story’ ‘Do you think it’s true?’ ‘Nah, it’s just a legend, those things are never true’. More whispers filled the room as everyone looked at one another, questioning the legend.

“Yes, that was truly correct Madam, But indeed it is only a mere legend. We are sure that Violette here won’t be coming alive anytime soon as she will stay as soon as long as she is here. Now then, let’s move along to our other sculptures. They too have fascinating stories to tell.”

The young girl held her mother’s hand as she stared at the statue while walking past. She gasped softly as she could have sworn she saw the eyes of the statue flicker. Just a little bit at least. The girl decided to keep it to herself as she figured she was probably just imagining nonsense.

As time went on, the sculpture remained intact in the Museum of Art & Culture. That was until it was to be moved to a different museum. During that time of transporting, something incredible happened during the night. It had marked the year 355 since the time of the legend states. There was no explaining what happened. The sculpture was missing from the transportation truck. The movers instead were shocked to see what they found instead. Unaware of the tale of the statue, they found something that was small, innocent, and hungry for attention.

Wait for me, Never lose hope and I vow to go to the ends of the earth to find you.

“W-What the? How the hell did a baby get on the truck huh?”

“I-I don’t know. Do you think someone forgot it?”

“Who in their right mind would forget a baby? Sounds like something more malicious than that. Poor little one, it seemed someone abandoned the scared thing.”

The movers checked in to see the baby on the ground. There sounds of its cries filled the truck and people from the outside were growing in confusion as to why a baby was found in a truck.

A small old tapestry was put around the small infant to keep it warm, as the tallest mover looked around the small alleyway in panic.

“What do we do? We can’t just leave it here!”

“Well, since there seem to be no parents. There’s only one thing we can do. We’ll have to send it off to the orphanage.”

“The orphanage? This little baby? Poor thing, it didn’t choose the life it’s to lead and it already is come to one of the worst possible decisions for it.”

“Don’t be such a sap, we’ll find a great orphanage for the little tike and make sure it’s in good care. I couldn’t live with myself if I just left it here to die. Come on, off to Mrs. Rosenbridge’s orphanage we go. It’s said to be one of the best. Families come often to care for the lost and forgotten children there, and Mrs. Rosenbridge is a lovely woman who cares for them.”

“Okay, but wait, should we check the gender of the baby?”

The two movers opened the tapestry to look down at the baby. Only a small smile appeared slightly as the tall mover held the baby to his chest.

“Why, it’s a baby girl. Yes, Mrs. Rosenbridge would be perfect. She will know what to do. Come on, we must hurry. We’re still on the clock after all.”

The two movers headed back in their truck to make a getaway from Mrs. Rosenbridge’s orphanage. For such a small infant, the baby was sound asleep during the small trip. The movers tucked the baby in the tapestry it was wrapped in and decided to leave a small note for Mrs. Rosenbridge about the baby they found.

“Do you think she will be alright?”

“Of course, she’s in good hands. No need to worry. Now come on, we have to get back to the museum or the boss will chew us out.”

“U-Uh y-yeah. Right. Well, take care little one. I hope life will be good to you.”

With a loud knock on the large walnut door, the baby was left on the doorstep with a small folded piece of paper tucked inside the old cloth of the tapestry.

“What on earth? a knock at this hour? Who could it be?”

The raspy voice of an elderly woman appeared from behind the door, only to look down to see a small little living thing there on her doorstep.

“Now how did you get here? Poor thing, to be left here out in the cold like this. Well, it’s a good thing you’re here. I built this place after all for this reason, but it is the first time someone dropped a baby off like this. What’s this? There’s a note attached.”

‘Mrs. Rosenbridge, sorry to bother you but we found a small infant in our moving truck. We weren’t sure what to do with the baby but we thought it would be best in your care. Please look after her and make sure she lives a great life in your orphanage. She has no parents but she deserves all the love of one if you can provide that.’

“Oh, but of course I’ll make sure she gets all the one of a parent. Now, what should we call you? We must find a name for you sweet child. A beautiful baby girl deserves a name to match.”

Violette Cherene Thomas. Violette Cherene Thomas.

Words of a name filled Mrs. Rosenbridge’s head. She kept hearing this particular name in her mind. For some reason, it was a voice of a man.

“Violette Cherene Thomas. What an interesting name, for some reason that’s the name that comes to me when I look at you.”

The small infant’s eyes opened to the sound of its name being spoken. She had eyes like no other. Eyes to match her name. A deep dark shade of purple, that almost looked brown but a slight tint to them. It was extraordinary as Mrs. Rosenbridge had never seen eyes like this before. Her eyes glistened as the light of the chandelier gleamed down the orbs.

“Do you like that? Your name? Such a beautiful name, and your eyes. How beautiful. You surely are special my dearest. Now then, let’s get you into some better clothes, and let’s see if you’re hungry hmm?”

What Mrs. Rosenbridge didn’t know was that the small bundle of joy was something of a miracle. There was strange magic to her that wasn’t to be discovered yet.