The Plague Doctor [RATED R] ✓

(25) Brightest Colors

⚕︎

I STARE IN FRUSTRATION at the empty drawing paper in front of me. I tried to get some inspiration by closing my eyes and meditating, but even after all that focus, nothing was coming up, so I turned my head to the right to look at Adeline who has been painting the entire time, not even struggling like I was.

     "How are you doing it, Adie? How can you just naturally start painting like its second nature?" I ask, and Adeline just shyly giggles, probably impressed that I haven't even done a single stroke on my sketchpad.

     I was at the art studio with little Adeline. After the death of Hunter, better known as Miguel Santiago, the manor has been calm and quiet. Master Claudio has mostly been out, probably because he's preparing for the next plague, while Laurence and the others have been diligently doing the roles tasked to them with no question.

     I didn't have anything better to do today so I decided to work on the homework that master Claudio gave me. He told me to draw something that reflects what I feel, which think would be easier than verbally telling him about it. Unfortunately, I don't even know what to draw, to begin with. If this was Alice, she would have been able to think of something. Claudio might even be left speechless by how amazing it would look because Alice is really good at this art stuff.

     "Can I just paint the entire paper black and tell the master that it means I feel depressed and suicidal?" I jokingly ask, so Adeline puts her brush down and gives me a sign to stand beside her.

     I didn't say anything and stood from my seat. When I got to where she was, my mouth automatically opened wide because of what I saw on her canvas. It was a painting of the sea. It wasn't finished yet, but it already looked so real. She was definitely gifted.

     "You got to be kidding me. You seriously have a talent!" I say, and Adeline smiles before pointing at the paint on her mixing tray. She then takes a pencil and writes down the words "Feel it" on her canvas.

     "Feel it? You mean the colors?" I confusingly ask, and Adeline nods her hand, grabbing the tray and handing it over to me.

     I awkwardly laugh and glance at Adeline who was waiting for me to feel the paint. I thought I could just fake it, but she looked genuinely excited that I'd be a literal asshole if I didn't take it seriously, so without any complaints, I stared at the colors one at a time.

     The smell of the paint was somehow relaxing, the silence made me feel more focused, and for a second I was almost lost in a trance. I think I'm finally getting what Adeline meant when she said I should feel the colors.

     Red felt dangerous, and it reminded me of blood and pain. Blue was calming, but there wasn't any sort of connection. Green reminded me of plagues, which isn't something I felt good about. The colors were all trying to call out to me, but when I looked at the color yellow, a clear image suddenly appears in front of me.

     The color yellow gave me an explosion of feelings. It was warm and comforting, and for a moment I felt alive, so before I could get hypnotized by the color's beauty, I blinked and looked back at Adeline who was waiting for me to say something.

     "Adeline, I don't exactly know what the hell just happened, but you're a fucking art wizard!" I excitedly say as I hand her the mixing tray back so I could start drawing something on my sketchpad.

     I picked up the paper and got ready to make my sketch, but just when the tip of my pencil could touch the pad, the door to the art studio suddenly opens, making both Adeline and I turn our heads to look at the intruder.