The Art of a Monster

Ch 4.March/24/2009

"Last night, two people were found in the same conditions as the other victims. They were identified as Thomas Jackson and Juliet Herald. The killer has still not been caught and leaves no evidence behind. Authorities say that they are doing their best, but they still recommend that no one goes out at night or alone. Stay safe everyone. Have a good night." The reporter said before Linn turned the TV off. Valeria sighed as she stood up from the bar seat.

"This is really scaring me Valeria. Can't you talk to Rachel and convince her to do practice earlier in the day?" Linn asked. Valeria shook her head in slight disappointment.

"This killer seems to be killing more people each night. Please, be careful. When you have practice next week, don't leave till you have someone to take you back home safely. If you don't, then just stay the night at the stadium." Linn said as she cleaned the bar counter top.

"Don't worry. I'll find someone. I was walked home last time." Valeria said. Linn looked relieved. They heard the door open and looked to see a large group of customers walking in and they immediately got to work.

Valeria was cleaning a table after the customers left. She then heard a familiar voice.

"Is Valeria working today?" It asked.

"Ya she's working today. Would you like a seat in her section?" A waiter asked.

"I would like that. She is amazing at her job." The voice replied.

"Ya, she is." The waiter finished as he lead the man to a table. Valeria finished cleaning the table and looked to see Stefano. She was rather happy to see him.

"Good evening Stefano. How have you been?" Valeria asked. Stefano smiled.

"I am doing good. What about yourself?" He said.

"Pretty good. Rush hour is finally over. What would you like today? Valeria asked.

"I think I'll have some green tea." He replied. Valeria smiled before she went over to turn in his order. When she came back she noticed that Stefano was the only one in the coffee shop that evening. She didn't mind. It would give her time to chat with Stefano. She then came back with Stefano's order.

"Thank you mia cara Valeria. I see that it is rather empty here." Stefano said as he looked around at the empty seats.

"Yes. It is." Valeria replied. Stefano smiled.

"Would you like to sit down and talk for a while?" Stefano asked. Valeria smiled and sat down across from him.

"I really enjoyed practice yesterday. What will you be performing in December?" Stefano asked. Valeria smiled.

"Swan Lake. It's a beautiful story. But heartbreaking." Valeria replied.

"Ah, that is indeed a good story. What part do you play?" Stefano asked with much interest.

"I play as Odette. This is the first time I played as the main character. Though, I'm not sure if a lot of people will show up." Valeria said. Stefano was confused.

"Why not? What you do on that stage is art. You are very good at it." Stefano said.

"Advertising. The only kind of advertisement that we put out is on the opera house's webpage. Not a lot of people look at it." Valeria replied. Stefano was quiet for a moment. He then gave a slight smirk.

"Perhaps I could help with that. Although, I will need permission from your director." Stefano said. Valeria was curious about what he had in mind. Her mind then changed thoughts without warning.

"Stefano, I go to the art center for a few hours every now and then when I don't work. Do you have any pieces on display there?" She asked before she could stop herself. Stefano took a sip of his tea.

"I did at one point in time. But everyone that viewed my art despised it. The center told me that if I didn't remove them, they would be thrown away." Stefano replied. Valeria was in shock.

"Why would they do such a thing? They view a pile of soup cans as art, but they won't accept true art like yours? What neophytes." Valeria replied trying to control her anger.

"It is disappointing that they choose an organized pile of trash made by  Andy Warhol. I will never understand how people see that as beautiful." Stefano said.

"Because those people are trash." Valeria mumbled angrily. Stefano must have heard her because he had to use all of his strength to keep himself from spraying his tea from laughter. Valeria laughed slightly as she watched him. Stefano managed to swallow the tea before he started to chuckle at Valeria's reply. He wanted to talk to her more but the shop was closing and the others wanted Valeria's help so he had to let her go back to work. He stepped outside and looked around around as he pulled out a piece of paper. It was a sketch of a woman in a blue dress. It looked exactly like Valeria's. She seemed to be floating off the ground. She had large butterfly wings made of blood. Her head was covered by a gray bag. Stefano smirked before he looked at Valeria cleaning tables. He put his sketch away and continued to wait. He looked over at the door to see Valeria.

"Valeria, I never had the chance to ask, could you perhaps show me some more of your art?" Stefano said as Linn locked the door and left. Valeria smiled.

"If you walk me home, I can show you some tonight." She replied before they started walking to her house. They exchanged a few words as they got closer. Eventually, they reached the door and she unlocked it.

"Come on in." Valeria said after she opened the door and held it open for him.

"Thank you mia cara." Stefano replied as Valeria closed it and turned on a few lights. Stefano looked around. Her home was rather simple, yet nice. She had a simple love seat and coffee table in front of a small fireplace and a small screen TV above it. He followed her through the rooms til they reached a larger room full of art. There were pictures and paintings. He stood in fascination as he look at each piece. Valeria shyly stood in an empty corner as Stefano studied her art.

"Valeria, you leave me speechless. You are truly talented." Stefano said before his eyes became set on the last painting. It was a painting of a crow with a red rose in its beak. It stood on a dead branch with the full moon behind it. The light of the moon reflected off of the feathers making a few have a tint of blue. There was blood on the crow's beak and some dripping off the rose.

"That painting gave me my vision of destruction. The blood, is mine." Valeria said. Stefano looked at her with curiosity.

"My second major in college was art. The classes were rather boring. All the artwork the other students made were the same boring things. Same trees, same flowers, everything. My teacher didn't like my fascination and appreciation of death. She wanted me to create cliche pieces like the other students. She wanted to control me. I refused. Her anger took hold of her one night and she attacked me. Holding me down as she started to stab my shoulder ." Valeria explained as she moved her sleeve down revealing several scars on her shoulder blade. Stefano looked at them before she brought her sleeve back up.

"She was arrested that night for attempted murder. I went back to the artroom to get my things and saw my blood on my painting and was gifted with a new vision of art. I created my first piece of beautiful art that night with my own blood. I hold this piece very close to my heart." Valeria finished as she stood by Stefano's side and looked at the painting. He looked at another corner where 2 pictures hung. One was the picture Valeria shared with him: Broken. The other showed blood-covered pavement with scattered glass. There were 2 bloody hands reaching for each other. He looked at the title: Shattered. He was drawn to them and wondering about their meaning. He pushed the thought out of his mind. He had a piece of art waiting to be made. Stefano started to step out of Valeria's house before he stopped and looked at her.

"Thank you mia cara. For showing me your marvelous art." Stefano said before they said goodnight to each other and went their separate ways. Stefano knew that he would have to wait for Valeria to fall asleep before he could make his next masterpiece. Nothing will stop him this time.