The Master of Souls (Ahri x OC)

Chapter 12: The Painting

Ahri woke up from her bad dream.

It was a dream about . . . something awful.

Then, she remembered.

She dreamed about her lover . . . that she'd killed with her own hands. And, she'd dreamed about them doing things that she couldn't remember . . .

Was it him drawing something for her? Or was it him swimming in someplace? Or was it—

Then, she suddenly realized that there was a parchment right in front of her face.

She groaned in bewilderment while sitting up slightly from her handmade bed. Then she gently lifted the parchment close to her face and looked at it.

It was a painting of an odd, but beautiful-looking, flower. The flower consisted of nine long white petals, short red, gold, and white petals, dark stamens, and a golden carpel. And, for some reason, it was somehow . . . familiar.

Then, she looked toward the entrance of the cave and saw that it was already nighttime. And, Jeffric was sitting in front of the campfire, his back facing her. And he was . . . doing something.

She placed her feet on the rocky ground of the cave and pushed herself upwards to stand up. Then, she started to approach Jeffric.

"Jeffric, what're you doing?" She asked while putting her hands gently on his shoulders. Then, she looked down at what he was doing and froze.

He was surrounded by small bottles full of colored substances and he was drawing something on a parchment with a brush.

He was drawing . . . her.

Jeffric was drawing her! In the painting, she was smiling while she was surrounded with red flowers. She looked beautiful and lifelike in the painting, and she was staring at the lookers while smiling kindly at them like an angel.

The painting itself was beautiful. She marveled at the excellency and the sophisticated details of the beautiful painting of her that Jeffric had drawn.

It was so beautiful that her eyes almost cried out tears.

But one thing bothered and hold back her tears while starting to feel her heart with dread.

Her arms started to shake slightly.

Jeffric was drawing a painting . . . like her dead lover.

Her lover that didn't minded her monster-like abilities. Her lover that loved her with all his heart. Her lover that she'd killed.

Then, suddenly, the painting started to change. The painting lost colors, and her expression changed from kindness to coldness. The red flowers that surrounded her in the painting turned into blood, and they started to dribble down the parchment.

No . . .

She looked around the cave, and to her horror, she saw dozens of the same paintings attached to the walls, blood dripping downwards, covering the walls with red, while tens of herself were staring coldly at her accusingly.

When she looked down, she saw the boy looking up at her, and she mentally screamed in horror.

The boy's face . . . It was drained of life! His skin was white as marble and was decomposing. His big light green eyes were staring up at her, lifeless and empty with nothing behind them., except oblivion.

Then, she saw that her hands that were touching the boy's shoulders were now covered with . . . blood.

No . . . this isn't happening . . . This can't be happening!

She blinked several times desperately, not believing that these were true.

Then, she saw Jeffric's face still looking up at her, but his skin had come back to normal, his eyes filled with life, and he was smiling joyfully up at her. And the painting had come back to normal. The beautiful painting of herself had come back to normal. And the walls were not covered with the blood-dribbling paintings.

She'd hallucinated again . . . The perfume of the snow lily in the garden was still affecting her, even though it was a long time ago.

"Ahri," Jeffric said while smiling at her, "What do you think?"

Jeffric looked prideful and nervous at the same time while smiling.

Thankfully, she'd already hid her fear and was smiling delicately down at him, trying not to show him her fear about the hallucination that she'd just witnessed.

"It's wonderful, Iminha," Ahri said with all her heart. Then, she lowered her body and kissed the boy's forehead softly while whispering into his ears; "Thank you."

I was stunned.

She called me Iminha . . . I thought in shock. She used the word (which means 'little one') that is often used in familial relationship. And she kissed me on the forehead!

My face started to grow hot while staring up at her with a surprised expression on my face.

"Umm . . . Uh . . ." I stuttered, trying to say something while I was blushing furiously.

Ahri giggled while covering her mouth with her left hand.

"You're so talented, Jeffic," Ahri said while caressing my cheek with her delicate hand. "It really looks like me."

"T-thank you," I said timidly while trembling with nervousness.

"I think I'm going to place this painting and the other one on the table," Ahri said.

I handed her the painting, and she walked toward the table, her feet making sounds amongst the dried leaves strewn on the cave ground. She placed the painting of her and the painting of the flower on the table while smiling warmly.

"Oh, by the way," Ahri said while glancing back at me, "aren't you hungry?"

"No, I'm not hungry," I said while looking down at my stomach. "I have a small stomach."

"You should eat more if you want to grow taller," Ahri said teasingly.

"Yeah, I guess," I said while laughing. Then I yawned. "Ahri, I think I'm going to sleep now." Then I stretched. "I'm so tired right now."

I lay on the bed while burying myself into the leaves which worked like blankets. I re-imagined the scene when Ahri saw my painting of her. She looked so delighted when she saw it, she called me Iminha (nobody in my family called me that . . . not even once!), and . . . she kissed me on the forehead!

I touched my forehead where Ahri had kissed. Then I smiled joyfully.

So, this is what getting kissed feels like . . . I thought while a single tear dribbled down my cheek. I'd always imagined and wanted my mom to kiss me on the forehead to wish me goodnight when she tucked me into bed. But it never happened.

She'd never tucked me into bed in my life and she definitely never kissed me on my forehead like normal moms.

But Ahri kissed me on the forehead before I lay on my bed, so she technically kissed me goodnight. One of my dreams finally came true and it felt good.

Another tear dribbled down my cheek.

I should feel happy right now, I though, but why do I feel so . . . sad?