My First Attempt at the Art

I like Tally too Barbara. How dare a customer interrupt your creative process...the nerve of it all!

So here goes my first attempt at Writing Toward the Art, looking for new ways to inspire me to making time to write....and I'm probably going to take you up on that extra week to submit. Things are getting crazy as my pappa fell over the weekend and broke his hand, and since Mother dear is on a bike trip with her siblings, I'm in charge of the old man. With this upcoming Indy trip, the plane ride is just what I need to start a little something.

Revelation Mask

Marilyn grabbed the mask off the shelf before it caught Pamela's eye. "Oh, it's perfect," Marilyn said, her smile challenging Pamela to say anything in response, but Pamela knew better. The mask would have been perfect in Pamela's study amongst her collection of Native Indian masks, and Marilyn knew this which made possessing it that much sweeter. "I know just where I'll put it," Marilyn said, "this will look great in my office." Marilyn's smile of victory never reached her eyes.

"The mask has a different expression under the top layer," the shopkeeper said while Marilyn paid out the three hundred dollars that both Marilyn and Pamela knew she could not afford. "It is said that the mask will present its owner with a different expression intended to announce good luck. If the mask's expression remains the same, bad luck is to follow its owner for it is said the heart of the owner is not true and just."

"Look at the treasure I snagged today," Marilyn boasted to their friends as they met up later for cocktails. Her hands quickly opened the box and pulled the tissue paper away carelessly. She proudly held up the mask, her attention focused directly on Pamela again challenging her for a response. "It has layers too!". Marilyn set the mask on the pub table without regard to the pools of condensation left from uncoastered highballs. Pulling away the top layer of the mask, Marilyn stared in anticipation as the expression of the mask's second layer was identical to the mask's top layer.

"There must be some mistake," Marilyn said, replacing the top mask in hopes of a second chance. Seeing the same expression again, Marilyn tossed the mask into the box and stormed out of the bar. Pamela leaned over and glimpsed into the box. Unable to stop herself, she peaked behind the top layer of the mask only to discover a gentle smile gazing up at her.