The Woman in the Portrait

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Incased in a gold frame is a portrait of a beautiful woman. Smiling at all who gaze at her. Her dark eyes hold a secret that none of her viewers would wish to know.  Behind her is a sea of pale pink flowers that express the beauty of spring. Her vibrant hair is entangled in the pink flowers that surround her. Smooth skin is slightly darkened by the shadows of the viewer of the painting. But the most stunning part of the painting is the bright red dress she wears.

The layers of her skirts outshine the delicate beauty of the pale pink flowers. The bodice of the dress gives her the waistline that every woman envies. And the heart shape neckline teases the eyes with the top of her cleavage. The image can make those who believe in love at first sight fall for her.

And there is the problem. For such a stunning red dress can not fade. So to keep such a lovely red dress to stay red, blood is needed. The blood for whoever has fallen in love with the women in the painting. She pleads with her dark eyes for her admirer to give her their blood. It won't take much. Just a touch-up on the sleeves of the dress. The folds of her long skirts can use another coat of red.

She smiles so beautifully at the one who offers the red liquid that runs through their veins. Her eyes encourage the admirer to offer more; more than what they are willing to give because they wish to look upon her longer. So the admirer will get the red paint from someone else. That someone being a random child that has wandered too far from their parents. A young man with too much alcohol rushing through his system. Or maybe the young woman who forgot her jacket in another part of the building.

All of them can be used to keep the beautiful dress red. The lady in the painting knows this. She never speaks a word and yet her admirer keeps repainting her dress. Making sure that she will outshine all the other paintings. Any other woman contained in a frame can never be as beautiful as she for she entraps all that fall in love with her eyes. Hiding a secret that admirers will offer large amounts of red paint to learn.

But it is never enough, her vanity can not be satisfied. Maybe she will tell the admirer all the secrets she holds if they gave her all of their red paint? And when they do this final act of love...the woman in the portrait smiles, because now her red dress will not fade for a few more weeks. Once it does she will convince another admirer to fetch her more red paint.

The Human Radio

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In this town of nine living people, a young man lived in the radio station. He stays there listening, waiting for someone’s voice; for proof that others are alive. Even though he isn’t alone anymore he has to keep listening.

Static once consumed him before he found the woman and her son. But that wasn’t enough. He has to make sure that no one is alone like he was. He fears that if he doesn’t listen, then he’ll miss whoever is calling out for help. That person would continue to feel alone and be driven to madness. He won’t let that happen. It almost happened to him until that fateful day. He refuses to let it happen to another.

So the young man’s search goes on. The other eight live comfortable lives as he continues to listen to the radio waves. He waits in the station looking for whoever he can. Hope has been given to him, and his obsession with finding more survivors is ingrained into his very being. The other eight survivors still see him from time to time but all he is concerned about is his radio life.