Amnesia

Chapter 1

Daniel was cautiously making his way to the garden gate which was fortunately left unattended. Profusely sweating with every step, he was desperately trying to look like a person taking a casual stroll in a beautiful garden, imbued with the scent of freshly cut grass and blooming roses. There was only one thing on his mind - the chance to finally escape and leave all the utter horrors behind.

Another step on stiff unsteady from fear legs, and one more, and one more, Daniel reached his hand out to the old heavy oak door, grabbed the brass ring to pull... When a warm hand landed on his shoulder, it sent an ice-cold shiver down his spine. He closed his eyes in anguish, allowing himself a second to sorrow for the lost opportunity to regain his freedom. He turned around with a blank expression, looking detachedly at bodyguard Matt who in turn was gazing at him with a scrutinizing look.

"Where are you going? You know you are not allowed to leave the grounds. Go back into the house, the boss is coming back soon".

"I wanted to see people outside," routinely lied Daniel returning to his miserable cage, "I am tired of painting the same faces."

"Well, if he allows you to go, I will go with you," Matt was not pushing, but was walking very closely forcing him to walk faster. "Come on, Daniel, you are all covered in paint, you must clean up. A bit faster, ok?"

Daniel obediently sped up, the legs were reading the brain impulses and were striding forward, at the same time they were receiving other impulses demanding them to run, run now, before it was too late. The steps were tiny, unsure as if the legs wanted to stubbornly grow into the ground first and then run away from the house, following the true desire of their owner. Matt signed tiredly but held back reproach, softly took Daniel's elbow, and led him to the house faster, almost dragging him.

That way he walked with him through the spacious ground floor living room, light and distinctively elegant with large, exquisite flower bouquets in vases, priceless paintings on the walls interspersed with Daniel's paintings. He walked him up wide marble stairs covered with soft Persian rugs, through the first floor living room, and by the bedroom door Matt softly pushed Daniel towards it and said," Why don't you take a shower and go downstairs, ok?"

"Ok," mechanically replied Daniel opening the door.

He looked around his bedroom with the grim, despairing gaze of a prisoner, the room was tidied up while he was in the garden. He sighed dejectedly and went to the bathroom to wash off all the consequences of his art, so untalented, so empty lately. In the huge mirror above the bathroom countertop, he looked at his worn-out gaunt face with the thin, faint line of a scar on his right cheek, pulled down his lower eyelids grotesquely, wishing that he could stay that ugly forever and never attract Vincent with his burdensome beauty again.

There were smears of oil paint on his face, and now it seemed that under his eyes there were wide drips of black tears - Daniel chuckled unhappily, distracting himself involuntarily from his heavy thoughts. He examined his face with a detached professional look, thinking over the composition of a new painting – a luscious landscape of the Garden of Eden and a sad clown Pierrot with black tears on his cheeks.

He visualized the details, already drawing broad, juicy strokes of the garden with a mastichin, painting Pierrot against the background of the garden's garish riot of colors with a thin brush, deliberately giving Pierrot's thin painting a starring role, killing the cheerfulness of the garden with his sadness. Hands moved swiftly, wiping away the paint with oil, soaping them to wash away the oil, pulling off the work clothes, and tossing them carelessly to the floor. His feet led him confidently to the shower stall so that his hands could begin the usual ritual of turning on the water, taking the loofah, pouring shower gel over it, lathering it vigorously, and beginning to remove the slightest traces of paint from his body to prepare his body for Vincent.