Beauty Encompassed

There she was. As a lusting satyr grabbed at a feminine figure, Dona was now the sleeping Hermaphrodite artwork. Approaching her from the rear, Harry thought she represented Venus, but, the front side revealed something unexpected.

Why had she been represented as Aphrodite's son and not Aphrodite herself? She was stark naked, posing like a doll with no expression. He wanted to touch her, to stroke her cheek and feel the urgency of the scene in front of him. His chest was caving in, and he found it hard to breathe. The tears streamlined down his face, and he staggered towards her.

She was pale, with deep cheekbones and dry lips. Her hand almost dangled over the decorative work she was laying on. He held her hand, without looking at her; he knocked his forehead gently onto her palm while grasping it with closed eyes. He was calmer now, he could think clearly until the panic set in.

"Are you satisfied?"

The serene voice of a woman petaled with a french accent startled him.

"Tony?"

He looked up and saw a bewitchingly beautiful red-headed woman, sitting on a sculpture that resembled a throne made from found objects.

"What?".He blinked to make sure she was real. He stood, letting go of Dona's hand and squinting to see her figure hiding in the shadows. He shook his head."You're mistaking me for someone else, I'm afraid."Looking down and back at Dona, he started to panic, frivolously looking around the surrounding area he flustered.

"We need to call for help!"He searched his pockets for his phone and didn't find it. He remembered the strife he had while searching the room; he must have lost it when he encountered it.

"The Anguished Man."

Harry looked up at her, confused and in a daze. "Excuse me?"

"You are The Anguished Man."

He shook his head." What?"He looked at Dona." You don't think that I did this?" He ran a hand through his hair and rushed towards Dona. Checking her pulse; he let out a deep sigh of relief.

"She's still alive!"He didn't want to let go of her. "Please, call for help!"

The woman didn't immediately reply; she slowed her words. Speaking in a softer tone; she mouthed she isn't alive.

Harry continued his onslaught in yelling commands at her. "Did you hear me? We need to help her!"

The woman replied, louder this time. " But you knew that."She got off from her seat and stepped off from the exhibit.

"Where are you going?" Harry's anger was reaching a breaking point. His tears stung and; his throat gurgled."It's Dona!"

The woman stopped midway from the exit, looking back at the shadow of a man. "They are already here; I suggest you tell them everything, Tony."

She threw her hair back and looked him in the eye." You have to come clean."

"What are you talking about?"

She ignored his questions and walked towards the exit, leaving Harry to fiddle with his thoughts. Listening to the twinkle of her heels and the federal lights made their way into the building. She disappeared among the blue and faded into the darkness. Bright lights shone onto his face, demanding his attention.

Behind a large tower of man, a small detective with dreadlocks spoke to him. "Tony Anderson?"

"No, Harry Collins."

She looked him up and down and noticed the red marking his shoes, and droplets spread across his pants. She raised her weapon and spoke with an edge." Slowly, step away from the victim."

With hands raised, Harry looked back at Dona," She needs help, please". He pleaded with his hands.

"Sir, we are here to help, please, step away from the victim."

"She has a name!" He put his hands down, causing the other police to stand at attention. The detective motioned for them to stand down. "Her name is Dona! And she's my fiance." He shook his head. " I found her!" He was searching her eyes for condolement but found none.

The detective spoke to a certain man that Harry hadn't recognized. This man's eyes weren't degrading like the others; his brown eyes levelled with Harry's. The man spoke with a deep voice that mumbled from afar. When he nodded to the detective, she and her unit dissipated from the area.

He calmly walked towards Harry, who was now holding Dona's hand.

"Please help!" Harry pleaded. The man nodded, looking from Harry to Dona.

"I'm Ace Cassius; my status in the Sûreté holds no significance to you. But do know that I do have a medical background, do you mind if I have a look at her?". His voice was a sedative that Harry found hard to suppress. Harry stepped away from Dona and allowed Ace to examine her.

"Will she be alright?"

Ace gave no reply, merely going about his work at a stagnant pace.

"Tell me...Harry." He hesitated.

"Where are you?"

The moment crystallized, and Harry could only hear his heartbeat. A blunt memory showed itself. A familiar overbearing stench reunited with Harry's disgust. He remembered the abstruse trunk that he stumbled upon, to shaken to reveal its contents he only remembered the smell. The smell of rotting flesh...

He shook himself back to reality. The question caught him off guard, he abruptly replied," What kind of a question is that?" He exhaled."We are here for Dona."

"No." The man stood, now standing eye-to-eye with Harry. "Harry Collins has been missing since he started the search for his daughter, Penelope Collins."

And in a Flash, the missing person's poster image of a little girl sprung to view. An innocent bud in may, she was smiling with braided pigtails and dimples. There was a poster in Crystal's art studio, a poster near the Cafe where they met, even one outside of the very museum they occupied.

Harry shook his head and stepped back from the man's suffocating intensity. "Who exactly am I speaking to?" The man demanded.

The nausea brewing in Harry's chest finally released onto the floor. He coughed." I don't know what you're talking about!" Harry sat on the floor, with his head ducked from view.

 Ace knelt next to him and continued to say," You're Tony Anderson."

Harry was silent, but he kept twitching at the words.

"You can't hide behind your many faces anymore Tony. It's time to come out into the light."When Harry didn't seem to budge Ace continued," We found the bags, Tony, the ID's and even that odd painting you have your car."

Something inside of him clicked. "The painting?" Harry looked up at him wild and mangled."What painting?"

"Does it matter?"

Harry looked down at the floor."It all started with that painting."

He mumbled under his breath. "It's all its fault."

Ace brushed off Harry's cause for concern at the artwork as a deranged artist babbling. "You can't blame anyone else for your own sins, Tony."

That name angered him, it touched his soul in a way that left it bitter. He winched at the idea of being Tony. The mere inclination brought with it an unfathomable rage that clouded his thoughts. How dare this man, in every virtue of the word, spit such a heinous name at him? In what world?

"You haven't only killed many others, Tony." His words cut him. "You've killed Dona too."Harry burst into tears, mumbling words he couldn't make out. Ace stood and towered over him."Before anyone else gets hurt, tell me."Harry kept sobbing, causing Ace to raise his voice. "Look at me!"

Harry wouldn't budge. The man knelt and took Harry's chin in hand. "Look at me!"

Harry sniffled, "What are you saying?"

His voice was stern. " I am saying that you, Tony Micheal Anderson, have put it upon yourself to stalk Mrs Donatella Everleen Claire and her family."

"You have not only kidnapped her but killed her and kidnapped both her husband and daughter."He let go of Tony's chin. " Now tell me, where is your "Little Bird?"

0-0-0-0

Under the watchful eye of her Grandmother, she was able to dance about the sparse botanical garden. An occasional pigtail would greet the flowers, with a dress as yellow as liquid honey. Before being whisked away, to another art class; she looked up at the sky. The sombre cloudless sky soon turned a brilliant red colour that she admired and dreaded at the same time.

She went on her tippy-toes and tried to touch the sky. Stretching with all her might; she finally relented. She dusted her dress and started towards her grandmother, who had just exited the barn.

Running towards her and nearly knocking into her. "Granny, do you think I'd be able to paint the sky?"

Her gran smiled, weakly as she looked up with a tinge of shallow emotion. "I'm sure of it." She smiled. "But first we'll have to finish your lessons." She clapped. "Chop-chop now, or you'll be late."

 Waiting for Penelope to leave, she muttered under her breath."That Tony's full of surprises." Before walking off she looked back at the barn one last time, reminiscing in the atmosphere it brought. What lied behind that door, is an inconsistency that plagued their family line, or rather their style when doing art. She shook her head and looked forward at the ranging canopies of apple trees. The scene was tremendous with its smoky textures and scarlet sky. 

"Suddenly the sky turned blood red- and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature"-Edvard Munch