The Phantom Inker

When Sam was a little girl, she used to wander the three miles from her house down to the river and stare up at the trees, watching and wondering what joys and adventures they might hold, and she used to stare across the water, imagining what it might be to swing its breadth on a rope swing; but as much as she wanted one, she never dared ask her parents, for she was forbidden to even come to this secret place, lest she fall in the river and drown.

Now, years later, Sam was no longer a little girl, and no longer even human; but everyone copes with the Change in a different way, and evenings in this secret place had become her time, her time to be her, her time to avoid the stares and the questions, to feel happy and free until the setting sun disappeared through the trees. Soon, she would have to leave this place for another night, to return to her place in the daily grind, to return to the noise and the bustle and the stares, but for now, this was still her secret place, and it finally had a rope swing, one she'd made herself._

This is many hours with CorelDRAW and a mouse. I really don't know how many. I never quite finished her hands, but I still like the overall composition of the picture, and Fairiegoodmother's "Enchanted Forest 44" background seems to complement the vector art surprisingly well.

My wife picked the colors, and I think she did a very good job, didn't she? ;)

At some point I may go back and finish Sam's hands, but it's good enough for now.