Short Stories Collection

An Imaginary Muse

A secret passage. It was so dark in there. There were a few candles burning but that was not enough. Kira was a bit scared and feeling uncomfortable too.

"This way, please", a male voice told her. Kira flinched hearing the voice and quickly turned around to see the man standing just next to her. A handsome young man was staring down at her face. He told her in a very gentle way and neither did he scream nor said it out loudly. So, he was shocked seeing her flinched like that, wondering if he did something wrong or what, although his face did not show any expressions. He looked at her from head to toe. Then he asked her, "Are you scared, miss?"

Kira: Huh?

She was feeling embarrassed because that handsome man found out she was scared.

"How did he find out?! No, he shouldn't know." She thought it in her mind. And so, clearing her throat, she said, "What? Who? Me?? Hahaha... No way. I'm not at all scared. Why would I be? Hahaha..."

He was looking at her with no expression whatsoever in his face.

"Oookay...", he said and then he pushed the heavy door forward to enter into his secret room. Actually, the secret room is actually his work place. He is an artist. He brings women who are the most beautiful, most attractive, spends time with them, makes a portrait of them and makes them feel like it is the most beautiful moment in their life.

Entering into the room, he quickly walked towards the couch and then turning around, he said, "You sit here, miss."

She did as he told her to. But she was feeling shy and uncomfortable, didn't know why she felt that way. Her cheeks were heating up. Although she did not see her face, she could feel it.

"I don't remember you applying anything for which you would get such lovely reddish cheeks."

He said it out loudly. He was back facing her, did not even look at her for once. Then how did he know that she was blushing? Kira was thinking in her own mind. This time, he turned around to see her. And when he did, her heart skipped a beat.

He smirked, "You don't need to be shy, miss."

She was feeling as if she was going to die in shame, as if she was all naked in front of this man who was staring at her with those deep, intense, piercing eyes of him. As if he could read all her thoughts, could see all her dreams, and knew all her vulnerabilities. Everything seemed too intense around him.

"OMG!!! I'll die in shame! Stop looking at me like that!" Kira covered her face in complete embarrassment.

He smirked and started walking towards her with a bag in his hand. There was a chair just in front of the couch she was sitting on. There was a canvas already being set up. He opened the bag revealing different types of pencils and brushes. He checked if anything else was needed or not.

"Hmm... everything's set", he said.

Then he looked at her again and this time with a serious expression. But this was only making her to get more attracted towards him. He told her to move a little bit, bring one hand on her knees and the other on her waist. After that he told her to look straight into his eyes. He picked one of his pencils to start his work. He glanced at her again and then, started to make the portrait. And when he started to do so, Kira was looking at him and could not stop herself from admiring that man sitting in front of her. She was craving so much for his attention. But he was so focused in his works that he did not look at her the way she wanted, which really upset Kira.

After a long time, he finished his work and asked Kira to come and have a look at it. It's been 4 hours she was sitting on the couch, but she felt like it was just a few minutes. And when, he called her, she felt really, very disappointed as his work was done and she would not be able to see him then. She stood up and walked towards the canvas. He was looking at the portrait, in a way that he never saw anything like that before. Kira was wondering why he was staring at it like that. Was anything wrong? But when she herself saw that portrait, she was speechless. She too, was so mesmerized by the beauty of it. It was so beautiful that she could not believe that the woman in the picture was Kira herself. She was wearing a red mermaid gown and he changed it to a beautiful white one. Also, her black hair was changed and he turned it into brownish blonde hair. And her beautiful light brown eyes and other features were all the same. But he changed the background of the portrait and turned it into a beautiful flowery garden where Kira was sitting. It was so beautiful that she could not stop herself from staring at it.