Black Magic - An Urban Fantasy Colleciton by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CHBB Publishing
Published: 2017-06-10T05:00:00+00:00

TODAY, SHE WILL BE HAPPY

BY SARAH HALL

The artist awoke with sunlight pouring through his window that morning, like all the mornings before. It was a good day today, because they sky did not pour rain. He didn’t like the rain. It always made his work so tedious, and much harder than it had to be.

He climbed out of bed, and wandered out into his workroom, which took up most of the house. He needed the space for all of his things, though, so he didn’t mind. He didn’t have time to waste on such frivolities like places to sit, and room to eat. He just wanted to make his art.

With a smile, he said, “What shall we do today, hmm?” His hands passed over the dozens of opaque jars that lined four shelves, neat as could be. The labels weren’t in any kind of order, but he knew where each jar had been placed, so he didn’t have to worry about wasting time trying to find this or that.

“Ah,” he said. “I’ve got it figured out.” He removed one of the jars, and popped the lid. Inside, a hundred small white tablets had been piled together. Each and every one of them had a small X on the surface, just like the tablets in all the other jars. He removed one, and approached her.

She stared at him with empty eyes, like she did every morning. Sitting exactly where he had left her the night before. She turned eyes dark enough to act as mirrors to him. With a hand on her chin, he pushed the tablet between her lips with his thumb, and smiled at her. “Today, you will be happy,” he said.

As the words left his mouth, her eyes got brighter. A smile formed on her lips, but she did not say a word. He had taught her well. She was to pose, and look where he wanted her to look, but she was not to speak. It would be an unnecessary distraction from important work.

The dress she wore wouldn’t do for this. It looked too somber. He had her change from the black silk into a wedding dress, with a bodice that hugged her every curve, and a train that dragged behind her for more than a yard. It was pearl, not white. It brought some relief to the paleness of her skin, and the darkness of her eyes seemed endless. As she sat on her stool again, he fetched her brush. Getting all the tangles out of her raven black hair took time. The gentle curls always seemed to get caught together in ways that he didn’t like. He found it necessary, if time consuming, to separate them so that they hung around her face exactly the way he wanted.

When her hair pleased him, he stepped back. The smile on her face had not been diminished by the time that passed. Her lips looked red and rosy. Her cheeks pale. Her eyes stared seemingly into infinity, while actually looking directly at him.

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