Page 7 - FS December_Neat

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Long ago I had to find a way to escape the
bloodletting lest I go mad with the agony
of both blade and emotion.
Broken and bleeding, I feel the man’s con-
THE VOODOO DOLL
sciousness slip away and know the woman

has finished him off. I let him go and re-
turn to myself.
Somewhere in the world, a dead man lies
slashed and bleeding, no evidence of the
killer left behind.
I hear the woman’s whispered words of
thanks and the soft sounds as she weeps
her way out of our temple. I know not
whether they are tears of joy, relief, sor-
row, anger, or even guilt. It doesn’t mat-
ter. The job is done.

Weakened, I raise my eyes gratefully to
my assistant, Skyla, as she pours healing
elixir slowly into my mouth and over my
tongue. As it rolls down my throat, I pull
her to me and taste her lips. She is the
tether that keeps me sane, the single point
of light in the world of hatred and pain I
live through every day.
She breathes deeply, fingers gently caress-

ing my broken flesh as if instead of a bat-
tered canvas, I were a beautiful master-
piece, and I know that there’s hope for the
world--that love truly can exist alongside
so much hate.

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