Forest and Shore: Or Legends of the Pine Tree State (1856)

He watches from dark shadows where men fear to walkathe shadows embraced him with divinely dark arms. He lingers in the void between light and dark until the time calls him to claim his prize. The shadows were his home. The dark provided him solitude away from the thoughts and the secretsahe knew things; he knew everyoneas secrets. We are walking canvases. Blank to everyone else, but not to him. He can see the story unfolding on the sheet. Secrets, stories, and sinsathey are all there to be seen by him. When it is time, he will make that canvas a masterpiece for all to see. No longer blank, he brings to life the secrets, stories, and sins. He is an artist of unknown talent, who never fails to amaze.