Inspiration

         Joshua sat on the window seat in the corner of his dark apartment, staring out the third floor overlooking a non-descript intersection. During the day, it was filled with traffic, people and life. Now, at three in the morning, it was deserted. Sleeping, like most of the city.



                   Joshua ran a hand through his shoulder length blonde hair and looked around him. In the moonlight, he could see his painting supplies scattered around him, untouched. He had several canvases with half-done works leaning against walls or sitting on easels. The last couple of months had been so hard. He had lost any vision or inspiration to create. Not the best time to suffer an artistic block. He had a gallery showing of up and coming artists in two weeks, and he still needed another half dozen or so paintings to fill his section of the walls.



                   He stood and stretched, walked to the bathroom, flipped on a light and relieved himself. He could not understand his lack of creativity. He was a good looking guy, 6’3”, lean and muscular from three hours a day at the gym plus his every other day runs of five miles. He never had a problem attracting women, who usually sparked his creative juices. Even that had not helped lately. He was at a total loss. He turned the light out and strode back to the window seat enjoying the brisk night air on his bare chest. He tucked his flannel clad legs under him and continued to stare into the night, desperate for an inspiration.



                   He was staring at the intersection in front of his apartment, not really seeing anything when she walked into the diffused light of the street light. She was average height, lean, with white hair tucked under a black scarf wrapped around her head. She had oversized dark sunglasses on, a long dark coat, and the dress showing from the underneath was pink with brown or black polka dots. She reminded Joshua of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. She was captivating. She paused under the street light, checked for traffic, and crossed the street blending back into the dark. Only the fading click, click, click of her black high heels suggested that she had been there at all.



                   Joshua continued to stare at the spot where she had been. Slowly a smile formed on his face. He had a direction and inspiration at last. It was only a fleeting moment, but he just knew that his seeing her at this moment in time was fate.



                   He jumped up from the window, turned on the lights, walked to where he had a blank canvas set up, and began to paint in earnest. Several hours later he was finished. He was exhausted, his chest covered with paint, but he had his first new piece in two months. He stood back and examined his work. He had painted the mystery girl as she paused and checked for traffic. She was just starting to move, with her head turned in the opposite direction. He had managed to capture the diffuse lighting and the classic beauty of the woman. He smiled. It was good, he knew it, and he did not say that often.



                   He grabbed another canvas and started another painting. It was well past lunch when he finished the second. This was close up of her face. The dark sunglasses were obscuring her eyes and adding to the mystique of the portrait. Instead of painting her in the dark and diffuse light, he changed the background to look like a sunny day, blue sky and all. He loved it.



                   He realized that he was hungry, and then realized that he seemed to have as much paint on him as the canvases. He chuckled to himself and picked up the phone. He dialed his best friend, Ryan. They had been friends since grade school and often ate lunch together at one of the many local delis.



                   “Hey Ryan, you hungry?” Joshua asked when Ryan answered.



                   “Sure. I haven’t had much time to eat today. Where do you want to go?”



                   “How about I meet you at Finch’s in half an hour? I need to shower, I’m covered in paint.”



                   “You are? Does that mean you are painting again? That is great. Tell me all about it over one of Finch’s famous burgers and a beer?”



                   “Of course. That is kind of the reason I called you. See you in thirty.”



                   He hung up the phone and made his way to the bathroom where he showered, shaved and generally got himself presentable for a trip out into public.



                   Joshua walked into Finch’s and immediately his stomach began to rumble from the smells emanating from the kitchen. Finch’s was a great place to meet and talk. It used to be a bar, but the owner had changed it to more of a restaurant with a full bar available to order from. They had a full menu, but the burgers were to die for. Juicy and greasy and full of a variety of toppings, guaranteed to leave you fuller than you wanted to be, and happy for it.



                   Ryan was waving at him from a table next to one of the many windows and Joshua sat across from him.



                   “So spill it Josh,” Ryan said. “What, or should I ask who, got you painting again? I’m really glad you are, but I know how you work.” He smiled as he said the last part and laughed when he saw Joshua blush.



                   “It's really weird, actually, I saw this woman walking across the street. I have no idea who she is or where she came from, but I can’t get her out of my mind.”



                   Joshua pulled his phone from his pocket and brought up the photos he'd taken of his new work. He passed the phone to Ryan, who looked at the new paintings for a few minutes.



                   “Wow. These may be your best yet. Why the blue sky behind the portrait? Don’t get me wrong, it really works, but, I don’t know, it seems almost out of place but not. That made no sense at all. I guess I don’t know how to ask what I am feeling.”



                   “No, I get what you are saying. I don’t know why I put the sky there, but it just seemed like it was something that she was missing. Does that make sense?”



                   “No. Not at all, “Ryan laughed. “Well, whatever got you going again, I’m glad for you. Let’s get some lunch, I’m starving!”



                   They ordered their food, and had a great time enjoying each other’s company. When they were finished, Ryan insisted on picking up the check, and reminding Joshua that he was planning on coming to the opening night of his show.



                   “I’ll see you there then. I really gotta go get some sleep, and then hopefully get another painting done before tonight.”



                   They said their goodbyes and Joshua walked back to his apartment. He fell into his bed, exhausted and was soon asleep.



                   He woke up and realized it was dark outside. “Great, “he thought. “I’ve overslept.” Sighing he climbed out of bed and went into the bathroom to splash some water on his face. He was still dressed from lunch, so he quickly shed his cloths and pulled on his loose linen pants that he always painted in. He was warm, and new he would only get warmer as he painted, so he left his shirt off. He padded out to the main area of his still dark apartment, and glanced out the window.



                   There she was! She was walking across the street again. She was wearing the same scarf and sunglasses, but tonight, her coat was open and he could see the bright yellow, knee length dress and matching heels.



                   Joshua grabbed his keys, and ran out of his apartment, down the three flights of stairs and onto the street. He looked around but could not see her. He could barely make out the sound of her high heels on the concrete. He ran in the direction that he thought she was going, but soon he couldn’t hear her steps anymore.



                   “DAMN!” He cried into the night. He had hoped to at least talk to her a little, maybe get a name, let her know what he was doing. He sighed and started walking back to his apartment, suddenly realizing that he was barefoot and had no shirt on. “What would Ryan say about this?” He thought, smiling and laughing a little at himself.



                   Once he was back at his apartment, he was again inspired to paint. This time he painted her in her yellow dress on a background of grassy rolling hills, blue sky and a few wispy clouds. When he was finished he had to agree with why Ryan had said. The cheery and inviting background worked but at the same time was almost out of place, like she did not belong there. He could not understand it.



                   He finished two more paintings before he realized he had missed lunch again. He showered and changed and even answered a call from the director of the art gallery that he had been avoiding. He told her he had finished five paintings in the last two days, and not to worry, he would bring them over in plenty of time to be framed and put up. The director was clearly surprised, but overjoyed to hear it.



                   Joshua grabbed a quick lunch, took a shower, and lay down on his bed. He was quickly asleep. He woke in the early morning hours again. This is starting to be a bit of a habit, he thought to himself and he quickly dressed, grabbed one of the small paintings and hurried outside. He sat on the curb across from the streetlight and readied himself for a long wait. He was determined to at least talk with this woman who had taken over his thoughts.



                    After a couple hours, Joshua was starting to doubt if she was going to come by tonight or not. Just then, he heard the click, click, click of high heels approaching. He stood and readied himself.



                   She came out of the dark into the light of the street light, moving quickly and with purpose. She paused directly across from Joshua, checked for traffic, and continued across the street, not even acknowledging that he was standing there looking directly at her.



                   “Excuse me, miss,” Joshua stammered.



                   She paused as she was striding away from him and looked back over her shoulder. “Yes?”



                   Her voice was quiet, but carried on the empty sidewalk. He thought he detected a bit of an accent. Maybe eastern European, Russian possibly.



                   “I have seen you walking here the last couple of nights.” He really had no idea how to go about telling her she had taken over his thoughts and painting.



                   “Is there something wrong with my walking?” She raised an eyebrow over her sunglasses.



                   “Oh, no, not at all. I’m sorry, I am not making sense. I saw you walking and I have painted a picture of you. I just wanted to show you.”



                   She turned and slowly walked back to stand in front of him. “You have painted a picture of me? After seeing me just a couple of times?”



                   “Well, actually, I painted the first one after I saw you just once.”



                   “Really? Is that one of the pictures with you?”



                   Joshua nodded, blushing and wondering why he had felt the need to talk to her. He was sounding like a creepy, stalker guy.



                   She held out her hand. “Let me see it please.”



                   Joshua handed the painting over. It was the second painting from the first night, just her turned head on the background of clouds.



                   She removed her sunglasses and studied the picture. She had piercing blue eyes that narrowed as she continued to examine his work.



                   “You are very talented. I approve. Why did you use the sky in the background?” She handed him his painting.



                   “I’m not sure. It just seemed to belong, like it was something that you would fit in with.”



                   “Well, I do not see much blue sky anymore,” she replied sadly. She seemed to be remembering something and then she blinked once and her face was back to what he was used to seeing.



                   “I have an exhibit at a local art gallery in a couple of weeks; it would be great if you could come?” He handed her a postcard sized advertisement listing the date, time and location as well as a list of the artists who would be featured.



                   She accepted the card, put her sunglasses back on, and turned to leave. “I don’t know if I will be there, but thank you for showing me your painting.”



                   “What is your name? I will make sure you are on the VIP list.”



                   She looked over her shoulder as she began walking away. “Nadia,” she said and strode off into the dark.



                   Joshua stared after her for a few minutes and then went back into his apartment. Tonight he knew he was going to paint one picture. He would do a black and white charcoal of Nadia with the emphasis on the blue of her eyes. He knew it would take the rest of the night and probably all morning to get it right, but it would be great when he was finished.



                   The next three nights Joshua waited at his window hoping to catch a glimpse of Nadia. She did not walk by at all. Every day that went by that he did not get a glimpse of her, he got more worried that she would not come by any more. He began to curse his decision to talk to her. If he had just kept his mouth shut, maybe she would have continued to come by.



                   Finally, on the fourth night, she came back. She was wearing a knee length all white dress, red heels, and a matching red pea coat. She barely paused as she walked across the street. Joshua was dressed and ready. He grabbed his leather “rocker” jacket, as he liked to call it, as he ran out the door. His jacket was a classic motorcycle jacket style but had metal studs down both lapels, and two inch metal spikes across both shoulders. He loved the jacket, even though it had cost a small fortune and did not really fit with his personality nowadays. He ran out the front door listening for Nadia’s high heels on the sidewalk. He did not hear anything, but knew which way she had gone the other night. He ran down the sidewalk, pausing every so often to listen and look around. He ran six or seven blocks before he heard a long, piercing wail from down an alley.



                   He stumbled to a stop and slowly made his way into the near pitch black alley.



                   “Hello? Is anyone here? Is everything all right?”



                   He saw a pale heap against one wall. He thought it was just a discarded bag or piece of clothing until it moved. He crept close, trying to figure out what was going on. Suddenly, the heap stood and turned. It was Nadia, but not as he had ever seen her. She looked at him and hissed, just like a snake!



                   Her mouth seemed to stretch open wider than should be possible. Her teeth were elongated and pointed, with her canines longer than the rest forming a terrifying pair of fangs. Her eyes were completely black, and seemed to absorb what little light there was. Her mouth, chin and front of her dress were covered in black congealed gore with stringy and chunky bits stuck in her teeth or falling off of her dress as she moved.



                   Behind her was a man that Joshua could only assume was dead. He was not moving and his neck and upper chest were little more than shredded meat, slowly oozing blood onto the concrete.



                   “W…w…what is going on? What are you?” Joshua asked, beginning to back up.



                   The Nadia creature hissed again, opening its great maw to show off the razor sharp teeth again. She tilted her head to the side and appeared to be studying him. Then, quicker than he could follow she leapt across the gap separating them. She grabbed a hold of his lapels and pulled him to her. He almost gagged on the stench of decay and death emanating from her. She slammed her mouth down, aiming for his neck. Somehow, he managed to move just enough to get his shoulder up and rotate just enough that she slammed her mouth over the metal spikes. He felt them punch into the roof of her mouth and her teeth bit hard into the thick leather, but only for a moment.



                   She shuddered for a moment and then began to scream, yanking against his shoulder as she tried to pull her mouth from the spikes. Joshua had no idea what was happening. She continued to scream, and smoke began to billow from her mouth and nose. She was finally able to pull loose, but one of the spikes ripped free from the leather of his jacket and remained impaled in her mouth. She fell to her knees scratching at her face, trying to pull the spike out of her mouth, her elongated nails digging trenches of black blood in her cheeks.



                   “Where did you get silver?” She cried. The smoke was billowing heavily from all over her body now. Her screams were getting softer and her movements were slowing down. Finally, there was no sound emanating from her and she lay still, smoke obscuring her body. At last, all that was left was her dress and the metal spike from Joshua’s jacket.



                   He stared, stunned, at where she had been, not comprehending what had just happened. He reached down, picked up the spike, put it in his pocket, and went down the alley and out the opposite side he had entered from, being careful not to step on Nadia’s dress or get close to the poor man lying cold and still on the ground. He managed to make it to a pub a few blocks away without being seen. He went in, ordered a glass of whiskey, downed it in one gulp, and ordered a second, and then a third.



                   Eventually, he made his way home, stumbling just a little and only running into one tree that he would have sworn jumped in front of him.



                   When he got home, he stumbled into the bathroom, got in the shower, and stood in the scalding water until it went cold. Then he put on is linen pants, went to the main room and began to paint, starting with a background of blue sky and wispy clouds.