The tip of the brush draws over the canvas like a light stream of water through the forest. Her movements are precise and swift, a mistake turns into a masterpiece. The colors all blend together in a bright colorful scene.
Then later the colors would go all dark, both figuratively and literally. Like a delicious, beautiful apple going rotten.
It was the beginning of May and she had just finished her painting. Her mom had taught her to paint and she wanted her to see this one, this one was her favorite. She had worked so hard on it.239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm6eMKcooTv
She saw from her window her mom walking up the steps and if she were a wee bit older, she might have noticed the man following her. But alas, she was only 6, why should she be suspicious of anything?
She grabbed her landscape and bounds down the stairs, as fast as her short legs could take her. She opened the door and smiles her big, missing front tooth smile. For a split second, she's confused about why her mother looks so scared to see her.
She doesn't wonder long as her beautiful, but now ruined painting was splattered with blood. Her eyes widen and everything was in slow motion, her mouth opening to scream, her dropping of the canvas.
And the man turned to her now, ready to take her out too and Nyssa feels anger rushing through her like a fire. She had grabbed the nearest thing, an umbrella resting against the door frame, and hit him with it. Now, if the man had suspected what she was capable of, he would have been faster. But he wasn't so as soon as the umbrella hits the side of her neck with surprising strength, he was on the floor too. 239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpeN0nwatb5
She remembers the exact look as her dad comes inside from the backyard from where he was playing with Flora. It was a look of shock, expectation, and grief. He didn't say a word as he walked over, picked up the man, and goes across the street quickly to dispose of him, the darkness covering him. She remembers watching him pocket the pocket watch, taking it from the corpse's breast pocket and hurrying back over.
Then, also without a word, he picks up mom, tells Nyssa to go cover her sister's eyes, and takes her outside. Like her father's silence, she goes to do what he asked and takes her sister upstairs, trying to soothe her and telling her it will all be alright but they both know she's lying. Can anything ever be alright again?
She goes to the window and watches as her dad buries the body. Tentatively, she goes downstairs and outside and he turns to her, finished.239Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdRNB2zNK4X
"You cannot tell anyone what has happened today, understand?" He says in an urgent whisper. She fights off tears and nods.
"You must tell people that there was an unfortunate accident in the garden." She nods again. Too hard, she can feel her brain starting to hurt. She still feels like she's nodding as she goes upstairs and as she goes into the shower, to scrub off the blood. As she gets into her pajamas and lays on her bed.
She doesn't sleep that night, and at that time she wasn't sure she'd sleep ever again.
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Nyssa blinks. Ten minutes until the fight. She will win, and once the fight is over, she'll see her mom again and watch her family from up above like her.
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