Medusa (A Fairytale Green FanFic)

Chapter 38: The Colour of Love

Happy Valentine's day. *winky face*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scent of Ella on my fingers, the remnants of this morning's activities, was driving me mad. The internal battle that I fought was one that surely no sane person would be struggling with: to wash my hands or not to wash my hands? That was the question.

In the end, I decided I had to wash my hands lest anyone else smell what I did to her. No one but me would be allowed to sense her in that way. Watching the evidence of her pleasure wash down the drain made me sad, and when I bit my lip, I could still taste her juices there. 

If I'd had my way, we'd have never stopped, but she had to go dress shopping for the dance, and if we were going to be parted, I figured the least I could do is be productive in that time. Since we spent so much time together, I wasn't sure when I'd get another opportunity to paint her room, and today was as good as any day to do it. 

Hopefully Lana kept her occupied for a couple hours so I could surprise her with a bedroom that was more reflective of her.

Gazing into my reflection for a moment, I noticed there was a subtle change in my appearance. Nothing so drastic as actual feature changes, but I didn't have quite the same moody disposition. My face felt... lighter somehow even if only in my mood was the only shift chronically improved.

I washed my face before leaving the house with the spare key to grab the paint from the shop. The drive was oddly peaceful. Normally, I didn't take notice, but today felt... different. It felt like stars were aligning. 

I counted time differently now too. Most people adopted the Christian timeline, restarting time at zero putting us the year 2023, but my life began the second Ella waltzed her way into the ice cream shop. For me, Ella was year zero. Before her, I lived in the dark ages and it was as though those years no longer mattered or counted. They were insignificant to the trajectory of my life since the fateful shift of my Medusa, and if she disappeared, my timeline would end.

Since my life had begun in Ella terms, I was starting to notice how I focused on things differently. Colours seemed brighter - more vivid. It was as before, I'd had a monochromatic filter that rendered everything pointless and lifeless, and now that the veil was off, I could truly see things as they were. Ella imbued life with every breath she took, and I was hopelessly infected with it, but I never wanted the cure.

The familiar sign of Mike loomed above the road, and even his friendly grin hit different.

Parking, I stalked into the shop without a word, a man on a mission. 

"Stone, 'ma boy!" Mike called, pausing his work under the hood of a civic. Wiping his hand on a cloth draped over a shoulder, he approached me. "Whatchya doing here?" he asked, and I realized he was not actually approaching me but his coffee in the paper cup beside me. The man loved his coffee.

"I'm here for the paint." 

"Ah. What are you painting?" he asked, and I shifted on my weight.

"Ella's room. She wanted it done, but she hasn't gotten around to it, so I figured I'd surprise her."

"Ah, young love," he said, cocking his head as he looked off into the distance. "Such a special time in life." 

He looked at the far wall where I'd already painted it green as a test run. He narrowed his eyes at me. "You didn't buy that paint for the garage."

I smiled. "No."

He turned and inspected my handiwork on the furthest wall of the garage. "You know," he said conversationally, "my wife is all into those chakras, those rainbow lights of the body, and she says that green is the colour of the heart chakra."