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The Painting
Gregory State knocked hard on the large, double doors of a huge residence. While he was reasonably successful, he didn’t quite belong in that neighborhood - he wore a worn leather jacket with jeans and a tee-shirt advertising the company he worked for, and black leather work boots. He also wore a baseball cap, also advertising the same company.
He preferred that his ‘customers’ called him Mr. State, even though they would usually use expletives in reference to him. He didn’t blame them - after all, he was there to take their things. The shirt and hat he wore bore the logo of the company he owned, State Repo.
Being in that sort of business, it only made sense that he was a large, intimidating man. Because of that, he never had to lose his temper - he would just let people yell, curse, and threaten, but they would almost never dare touch him.
He knocked hard on the door again, with the base of his fist this time, so it would cause a nice, loud echo inside the residence. He looked behind him, down the short staircase. His assistant, dressed similarly except for a newer leather jacket, stood with one foot on the first step, hands in the back pockets, looking apprehensive.
Her name was Shauna Green. She had blonde hair tied back into a single ponytail, and wore dark sunglasses to hide her blue eyes. A scowl hid her feelings of apprehension and fear, which is why she let her boss take point. Shauna was the one armed with the paperwork - a court order, and a notice from the bank.
In the driveway behind them, cleverly blocking as much pavement as possible to prevent an escape, was their full-sized van. It was painted black, but had no company logo on it - otherwise people would see it coming and flee.
Finally, the door opened. Shauna instinctively leaned back on the foot that was lower, in case she had to turn and flee.
“Good morning sir!†Greg greeted the old man in a tan smoking jacket who answered the door.
The old man wore thick bottle-like glasses, and squinted to see who spoke to him. He also had hearing aids in both ears, and unkempt white hair, and was unshaven as well. And he walked with a shiny varnished crooked cane, leaning over it as he listened.
“Shauna?†Greg reached behind him, and his assistant quickly passed him the paperwork. Greg opened it, and held it out. “Sir, I’m sorry to say we’re here to take some of your furniture and possessions to pay overdue bills.â€Â
That old man’s face fell, and he looked at the floor, dejected. He looked completely pitiful. He shuffled aside reluctantly in his slippers so the man and woman from the Repo company could do their work.
He then followed Greg and Shauna as the two of them entered the large entry hall of the home.
Shauna looked unnerved, as the old man had been staring at her since she entered. She gave Greg a worried look.
“He’s an old man.†Greg whispered to her. “Of course he’s gonna stare at a blonde.†That gave him an idea to keep the old man out of his business. “Why don’t you keep him occupied while I inventory the stuff we’re taking.†After that, he quickly ran up the stairs. He wasted no time.
Shauna swallowed hard and nodded. This was part of the job.
The old man shuffled closer to her. She braced herself nervously.
“You look familiar,†he finally spoke up in a gravelly voice. “You look very familiar.â€Â
“I...I don’t think we’ve ever met.†Shauna said.
“Wait,†the old man went on. “Wait just a minute.†He waved a single index finger in the air to emphasize his point. Then he started shuffling toward what looked like the home’s library.
Shauna looked at the staircase, hoping Greg would come down soon. At least the owner of the house would be kept busy by whatever he was doing in his office. She could hear items being pushed around, some of them falling.
She got her wish. Greg came racing down the stairs with two paintings, and he placed them by the door. “One more to go,†he whispered to her, “Then we can get out of this creepy place.â€Â
The old man emerged from the office struggling with a large painting that was covered by layer of heavy burlap. He dropped it to the floor with a ‘thud’, and then pulled off the dusty wrapping, which tossed a cloud of dust into the air.
“I knew you looked familiar,†the old man beamed. “I did meet you before.â€Â
When the dust settled, it was clear that the painting was of Shauna, half submerged in a natural pool of water, and nude, with long blonde hair gently dipped into the water. She was surrounded by rocks, lilies, and leaves, and she had a red orchid pinned in her hair.
“Hey, the last painting!†Greg noted, as he glanced at it peripherally. He didn’t recognize the blonde in the painting - he’d never seen Shauna any other way than she was dressed today.
“It is you!†the old man continued, becoming louder and more restless. His eyes widened when Greg grabbed ahold of the painting’s edge and tried to take it from him. “No, NO! It’s mine, you can’t have it!â€Â
“Ow!†Greg tried to defend himself as the old man started beating him with the varnished cane. “You crazy old man!â€Â
The ancient man then turned on Shauna too. “You should have more respect! You did this to me!†He yelled, his voice cracking. “You did put this curse on me!â€Â
Greg finally yanked the cane away, and the old man fell to the ground with a ‘thump’. Greg pulled the painting away...but then he stopped. The old man was lying on the wooden floor, sobbing like his heart had been shattered.
“What’s going on here, Shauna?†Greg asked, when he noticed tears welling in his assistant’s eyes. He finally looked at the painting, and his eyes widened as he began to make the connection.
“It’s true.†Shauna whispered. “It is me. I did put a curse on him.â€Â
She moved closer to the sobbing old man, and kneeled beside him, gently and soothingly brushing his hair with her fingers. “All he wanted to do was return to that world. All I wanted to do was leave it, and join his. There had to be a price.â€Â
The old man’s eyes were red when he looked up again, and his face a mixture of pain and sadness. “Please...don’t let me die like this. I’ve been looking for you for...I don’t remember how long anymore. Please, send me back.â€Â
Shauna nodded, biting her lip. She looked at Greg, and then quickly looked away, knowing he would have a lot of questions after this.
In the blink of an eye, the old man seemed to decompose in fast-forward, until he was nothing but a pile of grey dust.
“What the hell?†Greg asked. “Shauna? What...? What are you?â€Â
She untied the ponytail and let her long blonde hair fall over her shoulders to her mid-back. Then she walked over to the door to find the paintings that Greg brought downstairs.
One of them was of a young man wearing a completely white suit, and red shirt, and a white fedora. He looked remarkably like the old man who just wasted away.
“He’s happier now,†she said.
“The paintings,†Greg started to realize. “It must be another world. You came from it, and so did he, only he got old, and you didn’t. They were sold, and he got himself in financial trouble because he tried to buy them back, and find a way to get back there. Stop me when I’m wrong.â€Â
“I didn’t get old,†Shauna explained slowly, “Because I don’t age. I’m the goddess of nature.â€Â
“What’s this place, then?†Greg asked, nodding toward the painting.
“I believe certain people would refer to it as Eden,†she said.
Greg looked at the painting of Shauna again, and his life raced through his head. He started to wonder if he did an awful, hateful thing, taking possessions and lives from people who worked hard, just to earn himself a paycheck. His wife divorced him and moved several states away. All he had was his distasteful work. And then he came to one conclusion.
He looked at Shauna, teary-eyed, and said, “I want to go there.â€Â
“Like I told our friend here, there’s a price.†Shauna said.
“I don’t care.†Greg told her, his heart racing with excitement and fear. “I don’t care.â€Â
“Very well.†Shauna whispered. “You will live there in happiness, ageless, for fifty years, you will never want to leave. But remember, there is a price: You have to - after those fifty years, you will return here an old man.â€Â
He heard those words, and looked into Shauna’s eyes.
Fifty years later, an old man named Gregory State shambled onto the porch of his humble farm house home in the middle of nowhere. He looked behind him at two paintings it took him a lifetime to earn enough money to collect.
One painting was of a blonde half submerged in a natural pool of water, and nude, with long blonde hair gently dipped into the water. She was surrounded by rocks, lilies, and leaves, and she had a red orchid pinned in her hair. The other was himself, much younger, and looking happy.
He smiled to himself, laughing a little in an almost maniacal manner as he watched a car approach in a cloud of dust, from far down the road. The car stopped directly in front of his house.
Out stepped a blonde in high heeled shoes, a loose black dress, and sunglasses.
“I hoped you’d come for me.†Greg said in a broken voice. His eyes teared up, and he started to cry.
“Don’t cry,†Shauna said. “You only had a taste last time. This time, it’s for real. There’s no coming back.â€Â
“Thank you.†Greg sobbed. “Thank you.†Then he fell silent as he collapsed to the deck, turned to dust, and blew away with the wind.
-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2010 by Jason Froikin, and may not be
-- reprinted without permission.
-- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow
-- Liu Xi Xian and the Psychic Samurai are original design by Jason Froikin
-- Lara Night is an original creation by Jason Froikin
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An entertaining little short story, with a dream-like quality to the narrative. I liked the repo job angle to the story, and while Shauna claims to be the goddess of nature, she strikes me a bit more like the reaper... but then, what with the whole "circle of life" thing, I suppose they may be one and the same.
Nicely done, and very creative!
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