The Plague Doctor [RATED R] ✓

(38) Funeral

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I SKIMMED THROUGH THE shelves in the art store, looking for a pencil that was dark enough to make the marks on my diary visible. While looking through them, I suddenly spot a shelf filled with different paint.

     I was only going to check on the colors, but then my eyes stopped on the yellow paint. I stare at the tube of paint and decide to just buy it, alongside the pencil that I had yet to find.

     While I continue looking around the store, a hand suddenly holds onto my shoulder, making my entire body flinch. I quickly turn around, and a familiar woman faces me. For a moment, I wasn't able to figure out who she was, but when she removed the scarf that was hiding half of her face, I realized that it was actually Ms. Sunny.

     "Ms. Sunny!" I say in surprise, and Ms. Sunny smiles and waves her hand to me.

     "What are you doing here, Bishop? Did Claudio ask you to buy something for Adeline?" Ms. Sunny asked, and it was then and there did I notice that she was actually holding onto a bucket of red paint.

     "Oh no, I was just looking for something to buy for myself," I answer, and before she can ask why I'm holding onto a single tube of yellow paint, I ask her first, "Why do you need that much red paint?"

     Ms. Sunny looks at what she's holding and chuckles to herself. She probably found it ridiculous too. "Just for a project," she tells me, obviously trying to hide something. "I need it for these garments I'm making. Nothing so serious."

     "If you are needing an entire bucket of paint, I'm pretty sure it's serious," I say, making her laugh this time.

     "How about you? What are you looking for?"

     "Just a pencil that is enough to shade the markings on a previous page," I casually explain, and Ms. Sunny nods her head and leads me to a different shell. Looks like she knows her way around this store.

     "So you're doing some detective work, I see," she comments, and I just shrug my shoulder as an answer. "A regular pencil won't do. You'll need something like charcoal. That would definitely make the markings more visible," Ms. Sunny then tells me before handing me the charcoal pencil.

     "Thank you," I answer, and Ms. Sunny smiles, and the two of us walk to the counter to pay for the items we picked up.

     I gestured for Ms. Sunny to stand in line first, so she thanked me and suddenly stole the pencil and the paint that I was holding, telling me that she was going to pay for it herself as thanks for being such a gentleman. I told her that it was not necessary since I was going to use Claudio's money anyway, but she insisted, so I just let it do what she wanted.

     "By the way, how's Claudio?" she asks me while the cashier puts our items inside a paper bag.

     "Master Claudio? Well, he's alright, if being alright is the perfect word to describe someone who's—" I immediately stop and decide not to continue what I'm about to say because I might end up saying something that would get me in a lot of trouble. "He's doing great," I finish instead.

     Ms. Sunny stares at me, and then she chuckles and nods her head. I'm pretty sure she found my answer odd, but she'll probably just accept what I said despite how suspicious it sounded.

     "I'm glad he's doing...great. It's been a while since I've seen him."

     "Well, you could always visit the mano—mansion. I'm sure he'll be pleased to see you," I say, referring to the time when I saw the two of them kissing each other at their office. To think about it, Claudio must like Ms. Sunny more, considering how they've known each other since they were young. They have more history than I'll ever have with him.