Although I couldn’t see, something told me that I wasn’t alone in the cellar. Maybe it was the way the water changed tones as it dripped from the pipe onto the ground. Perhaps it was how before my flashlight had died I had come down here to investigate what had caused the ruckus I had heard. The cellar was damp and musty, not a single thing of value down here but heirlooms were placed in totes on the floor. The door upstairs had slammed shut all the light that had once flooded down the staircase whisked away in one movement. But now as I stood holding my breath I could hear it. The faint steps masked by soft breathing. The sound of metal bumping concrete making my skin become riddled in goosebumps. Whatever, or whoever was with me in my cellar was not happy, and my heart betrayed me as it beat fast enough to run out of my body. “Hello?” I whispered into the dark. No reply came but the noises stopped abruptly. Panic surged through my veins, and before I could move I was unable to speak. My hands gripping at my throat as I felt the warm liquid seep down my neck. It was thick and goopy making it hard to breath, my lungs felt like I was drowning. The soft chuckle making my heart thump faster as I fought for air. I stumbled around finding the stairs as I climbed them, begging to make it into the living room before I suffocated. Before I reached the top my vision became spotty. The light that filtered under the door warm as I collapsed taking my last blood filled breath as I succumbed to the warmth.

The field was an array of color, splashing the green with vibrant pinks, blues, and yellows. Flowers danced with every breeze as if they were performing a ballet eager to please the audience. Bees hummed in their hives making their honey and tending to their queens as they would usually do. Among this serenity lies a small shadow of a deer silent as she ran through the flowers as if she would never see them again. She moved so diligently and carefully that she hoped nothing would be disturbed by her movement. Calmer than a pond with no movement she took in a deep breath, listening to the sounds around her as crickets chirped and owls began to hoot. She was content, easily caught up in natures sounds as she waited for the sun to finally rest on the horizon. Her hoofs padding against the ground as she made it to her usual spot to sit and graze on the field below her. Gorgeous arrays of pink, orange, and yellows littered the sky as the sun slowly set on the horizon. As the sun disappeared she could see all the stars lighting the now darkening sky with a cold breath of air. Tranquil as she for the final time she closed her eyes, contempt as the stars whisked her away into the night.

The sparkly epoxied countertops had been the staple of the newly renovated art room. The cabinets below painted a soft blue, a few doors of their hinges still. Paint splattered against the cool white tiles of the floor in a mess of brown mixed together by all the foot traffic through the room. Sun catchers lit the walls with speckles of rainbows as the wind outside blew softly with the autumn breeze. For a second it was calm, all the noise drowned out as I stared at the gold handled pallet knife that lay sprawled on the counter. “Ma’am?” The voice made all the noise rush back a flash of light making me blink the blissful peace away. “Ma’am we need to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind.” My eyes shifted to the detective who was knelt before me a camera flashing again as I exhaled. My eyes drifted to the right where the paint mixed into the disgusting brown in a messy pool on the floor. Laying in the pool was a woman, her body painted with flowers and her mouth dripping blood into the brown pool. “My first born Emma chose the colors for my study. Do you like them?” The officer didn’t respond as I stared the woman over. Her eyes were void of like all the color drained from her skin. “She always liked flowers. She enjoyed the different colors they made.” I stood up glancing around the now solemn room. The colors complimented an array of joy and purity, the tiles once meant to cleanse negative thoughts now soaked in tragedy. Once more I looked to the officer who was now standing his eyes shut as I let out a soft laugh. “It’s too bad she had to ruin the wonderful colors she chose. Who would have thought her blood would be so dark.”