Annabelle in the Woods #11: The Night Bird Introduces Annabelle to the Star Folk

Here is the eleventh illustration from the Annabelle in the Woods series. It was painted with tea, acrylic and gouache.

Annabelle thought the forest at night may become a spooky and unwelcome place, but she was wrong. Just as the last bit of light fizzled away, the night raven swooped into Annabelle’s life.

“The only thing I don’t like about night” Annabelle said to the raven who perched next to her with curious eyes, “Is the lack of brightness. I always miss light when it is not around.”

“I know just who you need to meet!” The night raven said.

Without much explanation, the raven swooped down and gently picked up Annabelle with his dark talons. Annabelle and the raven ascended into the sky, higher and higher and higher! The woods were beautiful from such a high distance. Everything that looked grand and foreboding was light and lovely.

A weird thing happened while Annabelle and the night raven left the forest. The further away they got from the woods, the brighter the sky got. Soon, Annabelle and the raven were in the presence of the star people. The stunning light the start people emitted turned everything into a bright glow.

Annabelle was absolutely dazzled by the star people. Not only was their bright glow startlingly beautiful, but they were kind and gentle. Annabelle was full of questions and she rattled them off to her star friends.

“What constellation are you part of?”

“Have you ever seen an alien?”

“Do you ever feel competitive with the sun about the amount of light you make?”

“What are you more afraid of, black holes or asteroids?”

“What’s the meaning of life?”

“Where’s the beginning of the universe?”

“Were you a star when the dinosaurs were around, and if so what did they look like?”

The star people never said a word and answered all of Annabelle’s questions with a gentle twinkling, but despite the lack of words, Annabelle seemed to get all the answer’s she needed.