“if only you could see”

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The champaign with its endless fleece

Of feathery grasses everywhere!

Silence and passion, joy and peace,

An everlasting wash of air--

Rome's ghost since her decease.

The room was quiet, save for the sound of the clock ticking and the rhythmic sound of breathing. A man stood tall, staring pensively at a blank canvas. With a piece of charcoal in hand, he began drawing wide arcs. He set down the charcoal, then used his hands to spread it all over the canvas. He felt something tug on his pants, so the tall man looked down.

"Daddy?" A little girl asked. "What are you doing?"

The man smiled, glanced at his canvas, then at his hands. He brought them to his face, and then drew circles around his eyes.

"I'm not your daddy! I'm a raccoon!"

The little girl laughed, and the father began chasing his daughter. She screamed with delight as he caught her, and lifted her into the air.

"Mmm...this raccoon is hungry. And I caught a tasty little girl!"

"No! I'm Anya and my daddy's going to save me!" She shouted, wiggling in his grip.

"Anya..?" He asked. He stopped for a moment, and looked at the girl closely.

"Anya," he whispered, "this is your father. You have to save me! Hurry, get the charcoal!" He set Anya down, and she ran to the table where the charcoal was. She picked up the fragile drawing tool, and handed it to her father. He went back to the canvas, and with a flurry of movements he began drawing. Anya jumped up and down in excitement, but she couldn't see because her father deliberately blocked the canvas from her view.

"Daddy," she pleaded, "what is it?"

He stopped drawing and stepped away from the canvas.




"So what did he draw?" Vera asked.

"Isn't it obvious? He drew a raccoon." Anya said.

The paired continued walking to the kitchen in silence. Everyone always ate breakfast together, and sometimes dinner, but lunch was something they had to get for themselves.

"What should we eat today?" Vera asked, as she walked to the fridge.

"Hm..what kind of fruit is there?" Anya asked.

Vera rummaged through the fridge, pushing various things aside until she found a box of strawberries. She smiled, and took out the box, then showed it to Anya.

"Strawberries. Delicious. What else?" Anya looked around in the kitchen, attempting to locate a bowl to put the strawberries in.

"Some plums...and kiwi...oh! and some blackberries."

"Get that out too. Actually..I'm going to take some to the room. Is it okay if you stay out here for a while?"

"Um..yeah.. that's fine."

"Okay. Thanks. Maybe an hour or so...or more. If it's longer than an hour, you can come by, just knock."

"Oh okay."

Anya pulled a bowl out of the shelf, and grabbed a handful of strawberries and blackberries, as well as two kiwis and three plums. She smiled at Vera, who smiled back and waved.

Back in their room, Anya had set the bowl of fruit down on a stool near her bed, and was standing in front of the the easel, staring once again at the charcoal covered canvas.

Labels: fiction junction, Viktor's Girls