❝Your secret is a painting?❞ I took a few cautious steps; the hairs on my arms stood on end.
❝Not just any painting.❞ Dorian approached the easel, shadows on his face as he touched the cloth protecting it. ❝It's a dark object, the manifestation of m...
I shed more than a few tears saying goodbye to Emily. It wasn't easy, leaving behind someone who had been caretaker and confidant for so long. Leaving her all of my gifts wasn't nearly enough of a thank-you, but it was the best I could do.
"You take care, Miss," she said, gathering my hands in hers. "I'll keep the kettle on, ready for when you return."
"Emily, I'm not coming back. I'm sorry. This is good-bye, forever."
"But the Master thinks otherwise. He says..." Emily bit her lip. "I've said too much, Miss."
"You should know by now that you can trust me."
She sighed. "He says you will come back. Next time, it will be of your own free will."
I didn't know how to respond to that. Whether he was pompously guessing or had seen it in a so-called dream, I didn't care. I just wanted to go home.
"Bye, Emily."
She kissed my cheek. "Good-bye, Miss."
I waved for the last time, then stepped through the portal, home.
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My apartment was almost exactly as I had left it. Dark Dorian had placed the painting at the foot of my bed, so when I stepped through the portal, I would exit in a place I knew and loved. I flipped on the lights, astonied by the molded, expired food in the fridge and the thick layer of dust coating the furniture. I opened my closet, feeling lost as I stared at the clothes. After months of silk bonnets and dresses with crinolines and petticoats, modern clothes seemed strange and foreign.
I changed from my dress, sliding into a sweater and jeans, then walked to the window and threw the curtains open, surprised to see green grass, blue skies, and a watery spring sun. I walked to my desk, blew the dust off the keys and turned on my laptop, stunned by the date displayed on the monitor. It wasn't October anymore, it was April. I had been gone for six months.
"You have got to be kidding me..."
Helpless and stranded, with no phone, no wallet, not even the keys to my car, I left the apartment and started walking.
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