Petite étude: Setting…

 

Sunday sketch: Slow…

 

Quick study: Gymnopedie 2

 

Graphite study: Guitar Man...

 

Watercolour study: Silence and I...

 

No fear...

He was handsome. More handsome than one could have ever expected.  Totally different from that old image of a hooded skeleton, all dressed in a torn black robe and with a scythe in his hand, he was so different from that outdated idea of literature or the paintings of the old masters.

His skin was very pale, but in a handsome way. His features were really very attractive. The man turned his gaze to his well-shaped hands with long pale fingers and trimmed fingernails. He enjoyed the sight of a pair of beautiful hands.

Dressed in an elegant black suit, with a black silk shirt, he wore no tie… a quite interesting word play.

His blue eyes were very bright and his stare was fixed upon the man sitting in the old armchair looking beyond the window with distant eyes.

That man had always thought that, in the end, he would fear that character, who came in a pleasant form, perhaps to make him feel both comfortable and relieved. Maybe this was just an illusion of his fertile mind, to make things easier to be accepted by him.

- Did you come for me, finally?

- Are you afraid?

- No. Not anymore.

- Have you forgiven all that needed to be forgiven?

- I don’t think so…

- Do you need some time on your own? A last wish, maybe?

- No, I don’t think it will make any difference now… not anymore. Why do you ask?

- You are ready, then, I assume…

- You don’t answer my questions. Why do you avoid to talk about the inevitable? I know very well who you are.

- I am not avoiding anything. You recognized me from the first moment. Why do you ask what you already know?

- Fair enough…

He took a deep breath.

- Will it hurt?

The man in the black suit turned his head a bit and almost laughed. But the other did not think he would ever be able to show any sign of even a slightest smile.

- You, of all people, are asking me about the pain? I don’t recognize you.

He was right; he had never been afraid of pain. That was a stupid question. He should not sound foolish or desperate. He said he did not need extra time on his own, so that was not the time for regrets, compassion or apologies.

- I am ready.

The reaper stiffened his back a little. His broad shoulders made him look very masculine and handsomely elegant in that black outfit.

- Then we better go.

- I’ll follow you.

- Walk on my side. I am not leading anyone anywhere anyways…

That was unexpected, but it made sense. It was the end, not a new destination he was heading to.

The man dressed in black opened the door to the sunlit balcony and they both walked calmly side by side through the well-kept garden…

***

 

Watercolour study: Reflexes