End Of May

dedicated to my louise cause she's awesome to talk to and is going to marry theo james in the future <4

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May 21st, 2042

Don burst into the room, grabbing his jacket and backpack.

“Maya, I'm so sorry. Katie's birthday party starts at 7 and I can't do the tour,” he said, typing quickly on his tablet. At the swipe of his finger, a car came faster than the speed of light and zoomed up the building.

Maya looked out of the window and saw a sleek silver car waiting at the curb.

Don was staring at her pleadingly. “Can you do the tour for me? Please?”

“But I-”

“Thank you so much! You're the best.” He yelled as he descended down the stairs. Maya sighed in frustration as the car drove away.

She knew that everyone had gone home already so she was the only one that could do the tour. Despite the growing fear in her stomach, she clipped on the name tag to her black blazer. “You can do this. It's just another tour,” she muttered, trying to reassure herself. But she knew that she would have to face her fears, the painting that had plagued her nightmares. It was time to pay a visit to her old home.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~. ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~. 

Maya’s gaze swept around the hall, taking in the small crowd. There were mostly old people, but there were some parents with their teen kids and a love-struck couple carrying a small camera, as well as a group of middle-aged men. Even so, it was a smaller group than usual. She took a deep breath and shakily began.

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Farrow Mansion! Your original guide had some, uh, things he had to do, so I’m taking over. My name is Maya, and I hope you’ll enjoy this brief tour.” She smiled at them, hoping it seemed confident.

“Now, our first stop is right this way…”

                                                             Ω    Ω    Ω

 Maya finally led the group of the people to the library, their last destination.

“..and this is the antique Rose Library. Built in the early 20th century, this library is truly a work of art."

Everyone oohed and ahhed over the exquisite wooden book shelves, marble columns, the impressive collection of books and the displays of art that were placed around the spacious oval room.

Maya sighed, twisting a strand of her brown hair. So far, the tour had gone well. She had managed to stay calmed and collected, but she couldn’t keep it up much longer. Already her palms were feeling clammy. She walked over to the window that was next to the velvet couch. Along the busy street and canal of Venice, there were people everywhere. Some were on boats, others were in cars, but almost everyone was heading home for dinner. There was so much to eat. Look at the vanilla gelato! And oh, how delicious that bread looked! She could almost smell the buttery, crunchy bread and-

“Excuse me?” The girl interrupted her thoughts of food. “Could you show us some of those paintings?” Maya sighed quietly, but neverless she walked over to the wall where most of the paintings were hanging. The girl walked over, her pigtails swinging as she skipped, but she came to an abrupt stop in front of the first two paintings. She gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

“What is this? Why would anyone paint something so...revolting ?”

Maya glanced at the paintings. "Oh…The Farm Boy and A Beautiful Dreamer. Well, since you’ve seen it already I might as well tell everyone about them now.” She gestured for everyone to stand closer. The first painting is a farm, showing a red barn and a beautiful grey stallion. The other painting is a farm boy with a look of horror in his eyes, holding a knife that was plunged into a beautiful maiden. Her blood stained her white gown and her lifeless body was strewn over the garden bench as if it was just a broken doll. Nearby there was another girl, perhaps seven years old, with the same look of dread in her eyes.